American Primers consists of 842 titles of introductory reading materials printed from the 1711 to 1943 for children and other beginning readers.

These textbooks (New England Primers, McGuffey's Readers, Elson Basic Readers, etc.) illustrate the history of education as well as the history of American culture. A few reflect regional and ethnic differences, e.g., Confederate primers, titles written to educate the children of slaves, or bilingual primers for immigrants and some in Native American languages.

The microfiche and printed guide, with an introduction and contents, are available in Alden Library's Microform Department at PE1119. A1.