Tuesday 17 May 2016

A is for Afro, B is for Beautiful, C is for Cool: The Black ABC from the 1970s

"A picture says more than a thousand words."
The phrase was introduced by Frederick R. Barnard in 1921 publishing "One look is worth a thousand words", a piece on the effectiveness of graphics in advertising. Barnard pointed out that the phrase was originally coined by a Japanese philosopher adding "and he was right" (via).

The following flash cards were published in 1970 by the Society for Visual Education in Chicago, founded by professor of astronomy Forest Ray Moulton and utilities magnate Harley L. Clarke in 1919 (Saettler, 2004). Here is a quote from the back of the original flash cards:
"The pictures are of people and situations particularly relevant to many city children and thus make the reading readiness program in city schools more meaningful." (via)








::: The ABC, Kermit, Joey, and the cookie monster WATCH

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- Saettler, P. (2004) The Evolution of American Educational Technology. Sacramento: Information Age Publishing
- images A via and B via and C via and D via and E via and F via and G via and H via and I via and J via and K via and L via and M via and N via and O via and P via and Q via and R via and S via and T via and U via and V via and W via and X via and Y via and Z via

8 comments:

  1. LOOOOOOVE THIS!!!!!

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    1. I instantly fell in love with them... idea, images, choice of words - everything.
      Thanks, Karen!

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  2. Great!! Thanks for the share!

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    1. These cards are simply great. Thank you, Derek!

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  3. I love them. Any idea where I can find a set of all 26, or the poster.

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    1. I've just found them on etsy where you can by single ones or the whole set; more: https://www.etsy.com/de/listing/160123954/zuruck-zu-schule-alphabet-set-26-abc

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  4. I have an original set in the original case from the 70’s.

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    1. wow!! thats awesome. could you share a picture of the original box? i remember them and want to do a story about them

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