I’ve written an essay for The Public Domain Review on John Comenius’ Orbis Sensualium Pictus, widely considered to be the first children’s picture book. It was published in 1658, and it became enormously popular throughout Europe. Its author also became a famous figure in the history of education in his own right: his portrait was painted by Rembrandt, and he was asked to become the President of Harvard College.
In this essay, I look at the challenge of illustrating the divine, the invisible, and the abstract. The Orbis aims to educate children using familiar sights and sounds from their experience, but such an approach becomes problematic when discussing topics like God, the soul, and the Last Judgment.
You can find my essay here, and you can browse the other really fascinating material at The Public Domain Review at their excellent website.
[Update: Thanks to both The Paris Review Daily and The Dish for featuring this essay.]