Horn Books
A horn book is a very early printed book. The horn book was not generally used for entertainment, but for educational instruction, usually consisting of an alphabet, vowels, the trinity invocation and the Lord's Prayer.These books were common around shakespearean times, and were among the first books to be available to be handled by children. Most of them were heavily influenced by religion, as can be seen by the inclusion of the Lord's Prayer.
The general construction of a horn book was a sheet of parchment or paper that was adhered to a piece of wood and then laminated with a leaf of horn. While the front of the book (the actual paper) did not leave much room for illustration, the back of the wood piece would sometimes be engraved with beautiful images.
The structure of the book made it easy for children to hold and carry. It had a handle at the end, usually with a hole in it. The hole was used to tie a string through and carry the book on the child's belt or around their neck. Later, horn books were made of different materials like leather, ivory, silver, or cardboard.
The horn used to protect the paper on the book was actually made of horns from oxen or sheep. It needed to be protected so the child did not get it dirty. The horn would be soaked in cold water for several weeks, which would separate the part needed for the laminating. They would heat the usable part of the horn over boiling water and fire and use pressing plate machines to adhere it to the front of the book, smoothing t out to make it transparent.
I find it interesting that these books were used as we would commonly use textbooks today. They were virtually indestructible, so many kids would use them as bats to play baseball with! Another interesting fact, is that some of the horn books were made of gingerbread, and when a child learned a letter, he or she would be allowed to eat it! The horn book is an interesting piece of history, because it shows the evolution of printed books.
No comments:
Post a Comment