First edition of this alphabet-toy, used in literacy instruction yet sturdy enough to act as a bat for a shuttlecock which, in fact, was one of its intended uses.
Very good plus.
Price: $1,200.00
"The battledoor was an offshoot of the hornbook [...] In school it was used for teaching children the alphabet, whilst out of school it served as the battledore in the game of shuttlecock and battledoor." – A. S. W. Rosenbach
An under-appreciated and entertaining waypoint in the history of children's books is the battledore, a mix between the heft of a board book and the aims of a hornbook. Battledores were printed on stiff cardboard for the dual purpose of learning and hitting school yard projectiles in the game of battledore and shuttlecock. Battledore (sometimes battledoor, as in this item) and shuttlecock is an ancient game with variations around the world, and is an ancestor of badminton. (The battledore of the proper game is an actual racket.)
THE UNCLE'S PRESENT is a particularly unusual version of the battledore genre: rather than simply being a folded piece of stiff card, it also has a single interior leaf, meaning that the illustrations can be larger. This extra space is used to great effect here, and the publisher has decorated the alphabet with corresponding woodcuts and text from a Newcastle or York regional version of Bewick's CRIES. Despite the additional materials used, it is evident that this was a production done on a budget, owing to the crooked printing that runs off the edges of the wrappers. A lovely example.
Read more: A. S. W. Rosenbach, Early American Children's Books, item 428; d'Alté A. Welch, A Bibliography of American Children's Books Printed Prior to 1812, item 1363.
Philadelphia: Jacob Johnson, [circa 1810]. 6.5'' x 4''. Original stiff yellow pictorial wrappers. Illustrated with black-and-white woodcuts. [1] leaf. Wrapper with light edgewear and a bit of toning; a touch of loss to outer paper of spine. Interior with a few small spots of foxing. Sound and remarkably solid.
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