A Large Collection of Mid-19thC Carved Bone Alphabet Letters c.1860

Origin: English
Period: Mid-Victorian
Provenance: Unknown
Date: c.1850-70
The Letters: 0.5 inches high (average)

The wonderful collection of 134 carved bone letters in total, each hand made, the group with one complete alphabet, surviving from the high Victorian period and contained in a later tin box.

The collection and the box are in as good as condition as you could wish, with a beautiful mellow patination to the bone, varying piece to piece.

Alphabet tiles or carved cut outs like these were used, along with hornbooks, to give children the first educational building blocks of the English language in the early Victorian period. It is difficult, however, to draw a clear line of differentiation between tuition and amusement, as many early games and puzzles had an underlying educational motive. Either way, the letters, and box for that matter, are clearly defined and beautifully crafted.

Wonderfully tactile, wonderfully collectable, and if used imaginatively, wonderfully decorative.