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Young World
Techie Taffy
PAROMITA PAIN
You must have heard of horns on cows and rhinos but did you know some books had horns too? Hornbooks were stuff in use long ago. As the http://www.cedu.niu.edu/blackwell/books.html says "It may not look like one, but a hornbook is really a book. Paper was pretty expensive once and hornbooks were made so children could learn to read without using a lot of paper." And especially for the sceptics who think cow horns can't be used to make books here is news — "The sheet of paper on hornbooks was covered with either pieces of cow or ox horn." Visit http://www.cedu.niu.edu/blackwell/books.html to customise the process of making one for yourself though they don't teach how you might get a cow to generously donate some horns. The http://www.cedu.niu.edu/blackwell/hnbkdgm1.html page has a lovely illustration to explain in detail how the book was put together. Go to http://www.cedu.niu.edu/blackwell/diffhbks.htm to view typical hornbooks. See the artistry involved and how lovely they look. Visit http://www.cedu.niu.edu/blackwell/diffhbksbg.htm for a closer look. An interesting site without distractions or irritating graphics, it is simple and says, "This was originally called `Christ's Cross' and children would bless themselves before beginning the alphabet. Later, the term became `crisscross', a word we now use to describe a pattern created by crossed lines." As paper became cheaper the next set of books for kids were called "Battledore". The "paper used to make battledores was a thin cardboard. The card was usually cut into the shape of a rectangle and then folded in thirds." Check out the http://www.cedu.niu.edu/blackwell/btldrdgm.html site to understand how these books looked and how the writing was displayed across the page. Mail `E-mail questions and comments' on hornbooks and battledores to the Blackwell Museum (blackwell@niu.edu)
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