{"id":41,"date":"2020-01-29T20:11:40","date_gmt":"2020-01-29T20:11:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/exhibits.truman.edu\/hornbooks\/?page_id=41"},"modified":"2023-02-01T17:55:44","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T17:55:44","slug":"what-is-it","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/exhibits.truman.edu\/hornbooks\/what-is-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Horn Book History"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The horn-book was once one of the most important educational tools in existence. Before its swift plunge into obscurity, it was used for nearly 400 years in one-room schools, classrooms, and homes. According to Andrew W. Tuer, horn-book scholar and author of The History of the Horn-Book<\/em> (1897), the earliest record of a true horn-book is about 1450. The last caches were ordered from a wholesale dealer in stationery and school requisites known to William Hone, a writer and book seller, in 1799.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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In this facsimile, hand crafted by artist and scholar Gene Wilson, you can see the genuine horn used to cover the page.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Over this page, fastened with brass plating and tacks, was a sheet of horn. This piece served as a protective cover for the hand-written page, knowing that children would not heed its fragility. Thomas Tickell, in his work \u201cPoem in Praise of the Horn-book\u201d (1728), said, \u201cThe faithful Horn before, from Age to Age, \/Preserving thy invaluable Page.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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English style horn-book re-created by artist Gene Wilson<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Title page of \"History of the Hornbook\" by Andrew Tuer scanned by \u00a0ttscribe4.euston.archive.org and licensed under CC 1.0\u00a0<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Tuer imagines over thirty different trades employed in the making of a horn-book: Timber merchant, Ink-ball maker, Carpenter, Tanner, Horn merchant, Skin merchant, Horner, Leather dresser, Metal merchant, Leather dyer, Metal beater, Paper-maker, Smelter, Paper-stainer, Ironmaster, Paper-embosser, Tack-maker, Colour-maker, Punch cutter, Glue-maker, Type-founder, Stamp designer, Type-setter, Stamp engraver, Press-maker, Stamper, Press puller, Gold-leaf maker, Ink maker, Silver-foil maker.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Colonial style horn-book, also expertly crafted by Mr. Wilson<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Many horn-books featured impressions or engravings on the back. These common illustrations can indicate where a book was made. The Colonial style horn-book most often featured a ship design, whereas the English style featured St. George and the Dragon, military protector of England and symbol of all that is noble and courageous.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The horn-book was once one of the most important educational tools in existence. Before its swift plunge into obscurity, it was used for nearly 400 years in one-room schools, classrooms, and homes. According to Andrew W. Tuer, horn-book scholar and author of The History of the Horn-Book (1897), the earliest record of a true horn-book … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-41","page","type-page","status-publish"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhibits.truman.edu\/hornbooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/41","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhibits.truman.edu\/hornbooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhibits.truman.edu\/hornbooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exhibits.truman.edu\/hornbooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exhibits.truman.edu\/hornbooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41"}],"version-history":[{"count":52,"href":"https:\/\/exhibits.truman.edu\/hornbooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/41\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":368,"href":"https:\/\/exhibits.truman.edu\/hornbooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/41\/revisions\/368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/exhibits.truman.edu\/hornbooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}