The Juvenile Library of John Ludford, 1746-1781

It can be rare to find collections of children’s books that were actually owned by children, much less ones that are in as good condition as those in the Ludford collection. The majority of the seventeen book collection is housed in a handcrafted wooden box covered in Dutch flower paper, similar paper to that which covers four of the collected books. In the box are the twelve books discovered in the original collection, which are accompanied by an additional five found later to be part of John Ludford’s childhood collection as well. Along with the books, there is included a letter from Tone Price: Rare Books which lists the original dozen books along with a speculation on the provenance of the collection. All of the books included are small in size, ranging from 6.5x10cm to 8x12cm and with several varieties of bindings: several in the aforementioned Dutch flower paper, two bound in pink and maroon boards, and the remainder in buff boards with woodcut vignette illustrations. Perhaps the most surprising revelation here is that there is no evidence to suggest that the box was what originally housed the books, but that there is a good chance it was created later to hold books from this little library.

The Tone Price letter speculates that this was a collection shared by John Ludford and his older sister, Elizabeth. The author of the letter announces that “from [his older sister] no doubt they descended to him [John Ludford]”. However, in a later highly detailed study of this collection by Brian Alderson, he demonstrates this to be false. Instead, it appears that the collection was originally John Ludford’s, and was later passed down to his daughter, Elizabeth. The fact that this collection survived two generations of children while being well cared for, and in some cases, even mended (amateurishly, suggesting this was done in the home), demonstrates a thorough respect for literature from the Ludford family. An additional note pointing towards the importance of these books to the family comes from the number of books inscribed with the owners’ names or which have pasted in bookplates marking them as part of John’s library.

The content of the books themselves provides a pleasant survey of English children’s literature of this period. Most, apart from the rather unique volumes of A Christmass-Box were published by major children’s publishers of the time, and range from early reading primers to selections from the Bible to lectures on the theories of Isaac Newton. Many of the books included were published by John Newbery, considered the father of children’s literature, and may give an idea of what his publishing house was working on at the time. He was one of the first to print books for the entertainment of children in addition to their education, as well as publishing the first periodical for young people, The Lilliputian Magazine, an issue of which is found in this collection. In fact, several of the books in the collection seem to be explicitly for the purposes of entertainment, including riddles and rhymes for children’s pleasure. The inclusion of these in a collection so valued by its owners may point to a rise in leisure time for children, and to at least a middle-class upbringing where the children did not have to spend all of their time on chores or tending to family matters.

As a whole, this collection seems to have been beloved in its time and continues to be one which enlightens us about the realm of 18th century children’s literature. Even now, it contains as many delights as it does mysteries, giving us just a glimpse into the life of the young Ludford children.

A complete list of the included books can be found in the UCLA catalog listing or in Brian Alderson's book, below.

References

The Ludford Box: Alderson, Brian. The Ludford Box and “A Christmass-Box”. Los Angeles : Dept. of Special Collections, University Research Library, University of California, 1989.

The Origins of Children's Literature: Grenby, M. O. “The Origins of Children’s Literature.” The British Library, The British Library, 15 May 2014.

Cheap Print and Young Readers : Marazzi, Elisa. “Before (and after) Children’s Literature: Cheap Print and Young Readers across Europe.” Children’s Literature in Newcastle, 22 Jan. 2020.

This spotlight was completed by Maddy Gillette for the History of the Book course in Winter 2020.

For documentation on this project, personnel, technical information, see Documentation. For contact email: drucker AT gseis.ucla.edu.