Brewer, E. Cobham. Dictionary of Phrase & Fable. Horn-book.

Reference > Brewer’s Dictionary > Horn-book.

Horn, Horns.

Horn-gate.

CONTENTS · BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD

E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.

Horn-book.

The alphabet - book, which was a thin board of oak about nine inches long and five or six wide, on which was printed the alphabet, the nine digits, and sometimes the Lord’s Prayer. It had a handle, and was covered in front with a sheet of thin horn to prevent its being soiled; the back-board was ornamented with a rude sketch of St. George and the Dragon. The board and its horn cover were held together by a narrow frame or border of brass. (See CRISSCROSS ROW.)

“Thee will I sing, in comely wainscoat bound,

And golden verge inclosing thee around;

The faithful horn before, from age to age

Preserving thy invulnerable page;

Behind, thy patron saint in armour shines,

With sword and lance to guard the sacred lines …

Th’ instructive handle’s at the bottom fixed,

Lest wrangling critics should pervert the text.”

Tickell: The Horn Book.

“Their books of stature small they took in hand

Which with pellucid horn securëd are,

To save from finger wet the letters fair.”

Shenstone: Schoolmistress.

Horn, Horns.

Horn-gate.

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