Pencheon Preble Primer

         Welcome to the April A to Z Blog Challenge!  My theme this year is Relief Printed Alphabet Squared, an alphabet of alphabets illustrated with relief block prints.

        P’s first alphabet is by Lottie Pencheon, and features charmingly stylized linocut animals.  Her P is Parrot, but that’s probably my least favorite - because I actually love just about all of them except that one.  Trying to pick which I would share as my favorite, I got carried away, so I 

give you C (Chickadee), L (Lemur), R (Raccoon), V (Vulture), and Y (Yak).  I just love how such simple shapes can capture the essence of these creatures.  Plus, I managed to sneak one more of her animals into this year’s A to Z, which you’ll come to in due course.

        Today’s second alphabet, by John Preble, has a much more unusual theme: Louisiana.  Here P is for Pinecone, and I really like its pattern of black and white.  However, for my other letters I’ve selected a couple that are a little more uniquely characteristic of Louisiana: F for (cat)Fish and J for Jazz.  I like the sense of movement in the catfish.  I also like the Art Deco feel of the letters included in these 

pieces, which is why I used another of Preble’s letters (cropped from its picture) as the letter icon for K.

        We couldn’t run through a whole series about alphabet books without the word Primer.  Although not all primers include illustrated alphabets, there are lots that do.  I’ll start with The Royal Primer from about 1776 (Authoriz’d by His Majesty King George II).  P is for Peacock, and it’s really a pleasing and surprisingly detailed tiny illustration.  Some of my other favorites include the Fish that appears to swim along the surface of the water at F, and the funny Mouse at M.  I include this alphabet in its entirety so that you can compare it with Bewick’s back at B.  These two were 

made at the same time, and follow the same model.  You can see why Bewick was considered the master of the wood engraving, as his are certainly more expertly done.  (Compare the two Nags, for a head-to-head contest.)  One interesting difference, however, is the choice of letters.  Neither of these includes our modern 26.  Both omit U, which was originally considered an orthographic variant of V, and The Royal Primer omits I, which (as I mentioned at the post on I) was originally considered an orthographic variant of J.  Bewick, however, includes a separate I, but omits X.  I have to wonder to what extent letters were left out just to make the alphabet fit in a convenient grid of 24.  Twenty-six letters is really so ungainly!

        The word “primer” originally meant both “prayer book” and “school book,” since reading was taught from prayer books.  The New England Primer takes this double meaning seriously, including plenty of religious instruction along with its basics of reading.  Many versions of The New England Primer were published with minor differences by many publishers in many cities over many years, starting by 1764, and going up to at least 1836.  Some versions have pictures reversed from each other, implying that the illustrations of one version were copied onto new wood blocks, and then reversed when the new blocks were printed for a new version.  The edition

I have for you today dates to around 1830, and P is for Peter denying His Lord.  I also give you L for Lion and Lamb, and M for Moon, which is one of the few that doesn’t directly reference the Bible.

        The United States School Primer is undated, but judging from the fashions on the people it shows throughout the book, the illustrations must have been made around 1810

or at least before about 1820. P is Pot, which isn’t a particularly exciting picture to look at.  However, this alphabet does have a particularly interesting selection of words, and I’ve chosen additional letters to share based less on the pictures themselves and more on the unusual choice of word.  E is Engine, I is Ink-stand, J is Jews-harp, and S is Skull.  (Later the same publisher also put out The Blue Pictorial Primer with the same alphabet, but this time printed in blue ink.)

        And finally we have The American Indestructible Primer, so called because it’s printed on fabric.  This book contains two illustrated alphabets.  One is larger

pictures of animals, but unfortunately they’re painted over with color that obscures the details.  You’ll be able to see one of these illustrations as the icon at the letter S, however mostly I just find them disappointing.  So instead I’m sharing pictures from the other alphabet, which is illustrated with small, neat wood engravings in attractive framing borders.  P is for Peach, and I’ve also selected G and H to share, featuring Guinea Pig and House.  Plus you’ll be able to see two more when we get towards the end of April.

        (Remember that for all the pictures in this blog, you can click on them to see them bigger.)

        The moral, at least according to The New England Primer, is: In Adam’s fall, We sinned all.

        And also (according to The Royal Primer): He who ne’er learns his A, B, C,  For ever will a Blockhead be.

        I know you can do better than those!  What words of wisdom do you have for children?  (Bonus points if it’s in the form of a rhyme.)

[Pictures: Chickadee, Lemur, Parrot, Raccoon, Vulture, Yak, lino cut prints by Lottie Pencheon, c. 2011 (Images from Lottie Pencheon);

Pinecone, Fish, Jazz, block prints by John Preble (Images from abitamysteryhouse.com);

Peacock, Lion, Mouse, wood engravings from The Royal Primer, c. 1776 (Images from University of California);

Peter, Lion, Lamb, Moon, wood engravings from The New England Primer, published by S. Babcock, 1826-30 (Images from University of Florida);

Pot, Engine, Ink-Stand, Jews-harp, Skull, wood engravings from The United States School Primer, early 1800s (Images from University of California);

Peach, Guinea Pig, House, wood engravings from The American Indestructible Primer, c. 1880 (Images from University of Florida).]