Hornbook. Paper was scarce and expensive during the Middle Ages and until the early 1800’s. It had to be used sparingly. The hornbook was invented to protect the paper on which the first lessons of young children were printed. It was used as early as 1442. By the end of the 1500’s, the hornbook was standard equipment in English schools. Use of the hornbook continued in England and America until about 1800, when books became cheaper. Today, hornbooks are rare collector’s items.
The hornbook was a flat board with a handle. On the board was pasted a sheet of paper with the simple lesson of the beginning student. On the paper were usually the alphabet, the Benediction, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Roman numerals. The alphabet often was given, with the vowels heading the list, followed by combinations of vowels and consonants, such as ab, eb, ib, ob, and ub. The whole board was covered with a thin, flat piece of clear horn, through which a person could read the paper. The flattened horn was made transparent by boiling and scraping.
The handles of many hornbooks had holes so that the hornbooks could be worn around the neck or fastened to a belt. In some wealthy English families, the backs of the boards were of leather ornamented with pictures or designs inlaid with silver or gold filigree. American settlers had simpler hornbooks.
In the 1700’s, gingerbread “hornbooks” were often made. Students were allowed to eat a letter of the alphabet that they had learned. Hornbooks were used only in England and America.
