A is for Abecedarium - and a pretty Gorey one at that!

Welcome to a new round of Alphabe-Thursday!  If you would like to join in the fun and challenge you can click on the link to the right to get started.

Here we go -

A is for apple, alligator, ant and . . . .

The alphabet has been a popular subject for books, it seems almost forever (or at least a very very long time!).  A collection of images, sometimes with words, prose or rhymes, compiled into an ordered (alphabetically, of course!) is known as an Abecedarium.   Most people just call them ABC books though.

Abecedariums can be found for just about subject you can think of - from basic one image per letter to a complex, intricately worded and illustrated theme.

One of my favorites, simply because of it's deliciously macabre subject, and clever illustrations is

Edward Gorey's   - The Gashlycrumb Tinies.  A little gem of a book featuring a cast of characters - who all meet their end in the most inventive and ghastly manner.   Anyone who is familiar with Masterpiece Mysteries on BBC will be recognize the witty cleverness of Edward Gorey's work in the opening sequences.

So, let's just see what Mr. Gorey came up with for his Cashlycrumb Tinies and their demise -

To see more letters of doom you can check out theses links -

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/01/19/edward-gorey-the-gashlycrumb-tinies/