This late Victorian alphabet, written and illustrated by Mary Frances Ames (writing as Mrs. Ernest Ames), aims to teach young Britons their ABCs — along with a veneration for military might, empire, and colonialism.
At the end of the 19th century, the British Empire was nearing the zenith of its empire and territorial holdings. With unchallenged naval superiority, Britain extended formal control over India and large swaths of Africa, as well as indirect economic control over many more nations.
That global hegemony is celebrated in this children’s book, with racist illustrations of tiger hunts in India, “naughty” Africans in chains, and fearsome displays of military power to excite the next generation of conquerors.
It also includes classic British icons such as roast beef and unicorns.
-
Curation:
-
Images:
MORE FROM RETRONAUT
Kindertransport: A desperate effort to save children from the Holocaust
The old-school lumberjacks who felled giant trees with axes
Antique mourning jewelry contained the hair of the deceased
Rosie the Riveter IRL: Meet the women who built WWII planes
The streets of 1970s New York City: A decade of urban decay
35 years ago, grief at the scene of John Lennon's murder
This WWII women's dorm was the hippest spot in town
Rarely seen images from the Walt Disney Archives
White sand, black gold: When oil derricks loomed over California beaches
Chicago in ruins: The unimaginable aftermath of the Great Fire of 1871
If Google Street View existed in 1911
Before the Holocaust, Nazis targeted so-called 'Gypsies'