at 9d. or hand-colored at 1s.6d

[flowersophy]

Hi,

I am not sure about the meaning of "at 9d. or hand-colored at 1s.6d" in the following context:

The book(The Alphabet Rendered Instructive and Entertaining upon a Plan Entirely New) was originally sold plain at 9d. or hand-colored at 1s. 6d(this copy was probably colored later).

Thank you for your help!

 

[mr cat]

You don't state exactly which part you don't understand, however I'm guessing that it's the 9d. and 1s.6d. This is the old currency of the United Kingdom; 9d means nine pence and 1s 6d is one shilling (12 pence) and sixpence. Therefore the plain book was 9 pence and the hand-coloured one was 1 shilling and sixpence.

 

[Biffo]

The symbols 's' for shilling and 'd' for pence derive from the Latin solidus and denarius used in the Middle Ages. The '£' sign developed from the 'l' for libra.
http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/moneyold.htm