Liberty Bell Shop

A battledoor (also spelled battledore) was an early teaching device that replaced the hornbook and preceded the standard spelling book. It offered much more text than the hornbook and included a number of simple pictures to illustrate the letters of the alphabet. It was a printed introduction to text, glued to a piece of card stock and folded so as to fit in a pocket. The origin of this name is not known, but an item such as this would certainly have been an appropriate present for a young child.

This battledoor is copied from one printed by Jacob Johnson in Philadelphia around 1810 for the shop of Benjamin Warner. The title, The Uncle's Present, A New Battledoor is on the inside flap. Both upper and lower case letters are presented as are the numerals. Each letter is accompanied by an illustration of a street vendor with the cries of the vendors given below each letter.

Folded and glued cardstock, 4 pages, 6 1/2 x 3 3/4 inches.