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 Stereotyping was done by making a mould from the face of a type form, and filling it with molten metal. The resulting plate could be stored, copied or sent to numerous small printers. For this reader, the stereotyping was done by H.H. Wallis in New York, and the plates sent to Toronto where it was printed. The cost reduction for the printer was substantial. Lindley Murray, 1745-1826 The English Reader; or, Pieces in Prose and Verse, from the Best Writers: Designed to Assist Young Persons to Read with Propriety and Effect; Improve Their Language and Sentiments; and to Inculcate the Most Important Principles of Piety and Virtue. Toronto, U[pper] C[anada]: Published by R. Lesslie & Sons, 1835. 251 p.  This advertisement for a private school lists tuition fees and other expenses, such as fuel and candles. The students were expected to supply their own beds, bedding and towels.
Readers were often used to give religious instruction. Copy belonging to "Olivier Harel, Classe de Syntaxe, Petit Séminaire de Montréal, 1862-63," a surprisingly late use for this schoolbook. William Eusebius Andrews, 1773-1837 The Catholic School Book: Containing Easy and Familiar Lessons for the Instruction of Youth of Both Sexes in the English Language and the Paths of True Religion and Virtue. The 1st Montreal ed. Montreal: Printed by N. Mower, 1817. 180 p. American-born Stephen Randall was a schoolteacher in Upper and Lower Canada, as well as a journalist and reformer. This is an early example of Canadian editing of a literary anthology. In his preface, Randall stresses the fact that the children should understand, not simply read the texts. Stephen Randall, ed. 1804-1841 The Canadian Reader: Designed for the Use of Schools and Families. Stanstead, L[ower] C[anada]: Printed by Walton & Gaylord, for the publisher, 1834. 308 p. The word "catechism" was used to describe the question and answer approach of this history book. This copy belonged to Henry Lind (1805-1870), a lay missionary of the Newfoundland School Society, and schoolmaster at Port de Grave on Conception Bay. Ordained in 1841, he was transferred to a large mission at Heart's Content on Trinity Bay. The copy later found its way into the collection of Dr. Robert Bell (1841-1917) of Montreal.
Copy belonging to Alexandre C. Lindsay, 1845. E.A. Lequien Grammaire élémentaire: À la portée de toutes les personnes qui n'ont aucune notion des principes de la langue française. Huitième édition. Québec: Impr. de W. Cowan, 1838. xi, 294 p. Bouthillier was surveyor and editor of the newspaper the Canadien in 1807 and 1808. His Traité d'arithmétique was the first manual of this type in Lower Canada and was reprinted many times. Copy belonging to Paul Côté (1785-1855) who moved to Bic in 1818, and is the ancestor of an important family in the history of Bic. This copy contains the bookplate of his grandson, Louis-Napoléon, militia captain and one of the mayors of Bic.
This work was printed to be used at Charlottetown's Central Academy where Rev. Waddell was master.
Copy belonging to John Daly in 1832. Another example of an Anglophone student using a French-language schoolbook. C.F. Lhomond, 1727-1794 Élémens de la grammaire latine, à l'usage des collèges. Nouvelle édition. Québec: J. Neilson, 1813. 228 p. |
