In 2024, marked the 200th anniversary of the so-called “Primer with Various Instructions”. This is the original title of the book, better known as “Riben Bukvar” (The Fish Primer) by Dr. Petar Beron – a prominent figure of the Bulgarian Revival period. It is the first Bulgarian textbook written in colloquial language with secular content. Experts describe it as revolutionary and the first step towards modern Bulgarian civic education.
The Fish Primer, published in 1824, was more of a small encyclopaedia for children, giving basic knowledge of the Bulgarian language, physics and arithmetic. It also contained prayers, moral teachings, good advice, fables and 12 beautiful, if slightly naive, illustrations of animals. The last page of illustrations shows a whale and a dolphin, which is why the book was called The Fish Primer, as people at the time thought they were fish.
