What did the youngest citizens of Baltimore read in past centuries? A sampling of their literary selections is on display in the exhibition "For Amusement and Instruction: Children's Books in Bygone Baltimore" through Jan. 31 at the George Peabody Library. The books and related items come from the collection of Linda F. and Julian L. Lapides.

The exhibition features books published primarily in Baltimore for children and youth from the 1790s to approximately 1875; many are illustrated with fine woodcuts and copperplate engravings. Schoolbooks receive special attention as do the advertising booklets given out, especially at holiday times, by commercial establishments with the well-known names of Hochschild Kohn & Company, Hutzler Brothers and Stieff Pianos. Also on display are the childhood reading choices of several prominent individuals associated with Baltimore: Elizabeth (Betsy) Patterson Bonaparte, Frederick Douglass and Henry Louis Mencken.

Children's books led a precarious existence, and their preservation often depended on special circumstances. Some titles saved by proud owners had been received as rewards for excellence in school. Others still intact had owners who inscribed them with cautionary verses to protect their volumes from harm and theft.