The British Battledore

The British Battledore, Facsimile, from Tuer, Andrew W. The History of the Hornbook. Amsterdam: S. Emmerling, 1896. Folio II w. illus.

The battledore, a later version of the hornbook, is credited to Benjamin Collins in 1746. It became popular in the mid-eighteenth century in both England and her American colonies as a practical and less costly alternative to the hornbook. Made of stiff paper board, the printed text was laid out so that it could be folded inside the ‘pocketbook’ when not in use, so that it was protected from soil and abrasion while being carried. This battledore made printed use of every bit of space, including a rhymed alphabet on its flap.