The New England Primer

Common card · No. 498522

The New England Primer was the first reading primer designed for the American colonies. It became the most successful educational textbook published in 17th-century colonial United States and it became the foundation of most schooling before the 1790s. In the 17th century, the schoolbooks in use had been Bibles brought over from England. In 1686, the printer Benjamin Harris moved to Boston in order to escape the brief Catholic ascendancy under James II. Harris was the first publisher of the Primer, working between 1687 and 1690. His version was based largely upon The Protestant Tutor, which he had previously published in England, The selections for subsequent editions of the Primer varied somewhat over time. The 90-page work contained religious maxims, woodcuts, alphabetical assistants, acronyms, catechism answers, and moral lessons. It remained in print well into the 19th century and was even used until the 20th century. While widely popular with colonial schools, it was supplanted by...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Philadelphia: Printed and sold by Benjamin Franklin and D. Hall, in Market-street, Public domain