Doll Gingerbread Horn Book Craft

Finished gingerbread horn books for Felicity and Elizabeth Dolls. I used white puff paints to act as the icing.

Children would be rewarded with
gingerbread when learning the
alphabet in the Colonial Era.

       Although we don't know exactly what gingerbread molds were used in the American Colonies, we do know that giving gingerbread versions of horn books for special occasions and achievements was quite an ordinary practice among the English. 
 
       "In the fourteenth century gingerbread was made of rye dough spiced with ginger, cloves, or cinnamon, and sweetened with honey or sugar. Shakespear has, "An I had but one penny in the world, thou should'st have it to buy gingerbread."

       We know that gingerbread with raised devices was sold on stalls in the open market in the fourteenth century, and for anything that can be proved to the contrary, slabs of it, impregnated with spice and impressed with letters of the alphabet, were eaten by little people before ever the horn-book disturbed their peace of mind. Gingerbread Fairs, which survived until recent years, were at one time common and always popular. The fair maids of Tauton--Taunton was one of the early homes of gingerbread making- bought alphabetical slabs of gingerbread which were offered as bribes to little people clever enough to master their A B C, the letters being devoured as they were correctly named." from History of the horn-book, 1897
 
Matthew Prior has:--

I mention'd diff'rent Ways of Breeding;

Begin We in our Children's Reading,

To Master John the English Maid

A Horn-book gives of Ginger-bread;

And that the Child may learn the better,

As he can name, he eats the Letter;

Proceeding thus with vast Delight,

He spells, and gnaws from Left to Right.

But shew a Hebrew's hopeful Son,

Where We suppose the Book begun;

The Child would thank you for your kindness,

And read quite backward from our Finis;

Devour the Learning ne'er so fast;

Great A would be reserv'd the last. 

   Hone was humorously inclined when he wrote; - "Among my recollections of childish 
pleasures I have vivid remembrance of an alphabet called the Horn-Book, price one
 farthing, published by the Gingerbread Bakers and sold by all dealers in gingerbread in
 town and country... It was rather larger than the common horn-book, and 
made of dark brown gingerbread."

       We crafted our own doll sized versions of gingerbread horn books for Felicity and Elizabeth, using an alphabet mold intended for oven bake clay. Both Felicity and Elizabeth would most certainly have been taught to read, write and do simple sums by their mothers or governess at home. Girls did not usually attend school outside of the home in 1775, however they were expected to read from the Bible and keep a household ledger.

Left, Sculpey clay molded into letters. Right, I cut the horn book shape from cardboard.

Left, mask the horn books for strength. Right glue the baked Sculpey letters onto the cardboard
 using white school glue before painting these with brown acrylic paints and white puff paints.

• You can still purchase gingerbread horn book molds here
• Read more about Horn Books
• Learn about the history of gingerbread