Historical Materials for Learning to Read
Over time, different materials have been produced to help children (and adults) learn to read. On this page you’ll explore some of the earliest materials for teaching reading.
The Hornbook
This is an example of a hornbook, an early reading primer dating back to the 1450s or even earlier. Similar kinds of items were in use through the 19th century. It consists of a sheet of paper or vellum mounted on a wood or metal frame with a handle and protected under a thin transparent layer of horn.
Early Printed Materials
As printing became more accessible and less cost-prohibitive, children were given access to cheaply bound and printed battledores and primers.
Skim through The New England Primer used in the United States from approximately 1690 through the 18th and much of the 19th century. This version is a printing from roughly 1800. Skim through this, paying attention to what kind of content is available.
Now skim through this 1840 primer.
Explore: Early Alphabet Books
The Ark Alphabet was published in 1868 in New York.
One of the most famous alphabet books is the one below from 1886, illustrated by Kate Greenaway, an artist for whom one of the big children’s literature awards is given. The book is based on a common rhyme used to learn the alphabet.
The Absurd Alphabet, illustrated in 1912 by Walter Crane, a major illustrator of fairy tales
This next one is by C.B. Falls and was published in 1923.
Cady Harrison, 1927
The Sunbonnet Babie’s A-B-C Book by Eulalie Osgood Grover in 1929
Loading …What do you remember about learning to read? How did you learn your alphabet? Was there a particular book you remember? What alphabet books above might you want to see more of? Why?
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