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Alphabet blocks
Title : Alphabet blocks Alphabet blocks View More Images
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Source : [Alphabet blocks sets] [toy]
Format : Toy
Dimensions : 50 x 50 x 20 mm
Contributor : State Library of South Australia
Catalogue record
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Description :

A set of 24 wooden blocks with coloured illustration of animals and letter of alphabet on reverse, for example E=Egyptian donkey, N=Newfoundland [dog]. U (Unicorn) and V (Vampire bat) are given on the same block and X is shown on the same block as Y=Yak, but no animal is given.

The blocks are worn with some loss of paper, and one block is split, evidence of constant use by the donor family.

Alphabet blocks were conceived by the philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) who suggested children could use them to build words. They are now a classic toy and come in many forms and designs. Apart from their potential value in familiarising children with the letters of the alphabet, the blocks can be used for building towers aiding in the development of the child's hand/eye coordination and spatial concepts.
Subjects
Further reading :

Burton, Anthony. Children's pleasures: books, toys and games from the Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood, London: V & A Publications, 1996, pp. 42-43 [Block toys]

Goldstein, Jeffrey H. (ed) Toys, play, and child development, Cambridge [England]; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994

Hewitt, Karen. Educational toys in America, 1800 to the present, Burlington, Vt.: Robert Hull Fleming Museum, University of Vermont, c1979, pp. 53-63 [Alphabet toys]

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