HORNBOOK. LEATHER HORNBOOK -

HORNBOOK. LEATHER HORNBOOK. Offered here is a very large, early leather hornbook. It measures 12 1/2" high x 6" wide with carved extensions on either side of the handle, housed in a custom velvet lined box with a sculpted insert in the shape of the hornbook to hold it in place. The printed text which would have been under the horn is lacking and the horn covering is cracked in several pieces. There are traces of gilt embellishment on the side with the horn that also has numbers written along the edges by an early owner. On the reverse side there is an elaborate gilt decorative diamond shaped panel 3 1/2" wide x 5 1/4" high with the figures of a little boy and a little girl on opposite ends of the diamond. The handle is curved and comes to a point and there is a large red cross running down the length of the handle. Hornbooks were early ABC learning devices for children. They usually consisted of a sheet of parchment or paper containing the alphabet and other simple words, numbers or prayers. This was then mounted on leather, wood or bone and covered with a thin sheet of horn for protection. A hole in the handle was used for a piece of string that would be tied to the child's clothing - this example has no hole. Wealthier families might have had hornbooks made of silver or ivory. Early hornbooks have become quite scarce and this larger size example is quite unusual.