Alphabet of Trades, spread

Resource added
On the right of the illustration, an alphabet rhyme begins, "A is an artist" followed by "B Is a Baker" with a stanza of praise for each letter and trade. At the top there is an illustration of the four letters, A,B,C,D, showing the four tradsmen all at work together in an urban street.
The opening spread from Alphabet of Trades, a toybook from the series Fairy Fairstar's Cabinet of Gems, created in 1852 by London publisher A. A. Park. The frontispiece illustration, which serves as a title page, suggests some social order dictating the placement of tradesmen, with strong laborers at the base buttressing the arrangement, while shipbuilders framed by factories claim central national importance, and the genteel artist crowns the top. Images are available for download through the Princeton University Library catalog, (CTSN) 8561 Pams / Eng 19 / Box 003. https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/9947905203506421

Full description

On the left page of this children's alphabet book appears an arrangement of tradesmen around the book's title, with baker, artist, and carpenter along the top, followed by miller and shepherd, then cabinet maker and brick layer framing a central large image of shipbuilders, and on the bottom a navvy (or possibly blacksmith) and woodcutter in minimal clothes that indicate hard physical labor. The aproned figure between them could be the printer.

  • type
    Image
  • created on
  • file format
    jpg
  • file size
    175 KB
  • container title
    Alphabet of Trades (London: A. Park, [1852]).
  • credit
    Cotsen Children’s Library, Courtesy of Princeton University Library
  • rights
    public domain