A VIEW OF THE ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF EDUCATION, FOUNDED ON THE STUDY OF THE NATURE OF MAN

1821 · Edinburgh

by (BINDINGS - PUBLISHER'S BOARDS). (EDUCATION). SPURZHEIM, JOHANN GASPAR

Edinburgh: Printed for Arch[ibal]d Constable & Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson & Co, 1821. FIRST EDITION. 192 x 103 mm. (7 1/2 x 4 1/2"). xv, [1], lvii, [1], 59-360 pp.
ORIGINAL PUBLISHER'S PAPER BOARDS, paper label on spine, edges untrimmed. Owner's signature of Robert Chichester, dated 1827, on front pastedown. Text a shade less than bright because of inferior paper stock, slight wear to the binding, but AS FINE A COPY IN THE ORIGINAL BOARDS AS ONE COULD HOPE TO FIND, the covers amazingly clean and smooth, and with only the most minor faults internally.

In its original remarkably well-preserved publisher's boards, this work on (truncated) education captures the spirit of reform abundant in the early 19th century, including its warts. Although Spurzheim (1776-1832) was better known as an exponent of phrenology and an authority on mental illness than as an educational theorist, his "View of the Elementary Principles of Education" is an important work that, for the most part, is sensible and progressive. Especially significant are his assertion that all influences from birth onward contribute to the physical and mental development of the child, and the inference he draws from this that, in addition to the conventional education of the intellect, an optimal upbringing must include attention to such things as clean air, proper diet, and suitable exercise. He favors public education over private instruction because children will benefit by meeting a variety of people with "different manners of feeling and thinking." Spurzheim shows himself to be generally tolerant and forward thinking, as he maintains that good education can improve almost anybody (it would certainly reduce the number of criminals). But he sometimes disappoints, as in his belief that many limitations are hereditary and must be taken into account in designing the most fitting education for an individual. He states, for example, that the poor ought to be prevented from reproducing, as if poverty were in the genes. And, in answering the claims of Mary Wollstonecraft's "Vindication of the Rights of Women," he says, "I cannot perceive any arrangement of nature that can lead me to expect that women will cease to be considered as subordinate to men. Let them endeavor, if they please, to acquire the same degree of talent, but till they have acquired it, let them cherish order and exercise the virtues of their actual condition in society, rather than attempt to rise into a sphere for which they are not at present fitted." Also appended here is a section on the treatment and reform of criminals, in which the author calls for a better understanding of the causes of crime, for the requiring of prisoners to undertake useful work and courses of instruction while in prison, and for the study of the prison system instituted by William Penn at Philadelphia. While the sometimes disheartening contents approach a certain fascination, it's the binding here that competes for--and perhaps wins--our attention. That its fragile construction could hold up so beautifully through two centuries of use is extraordinary.. (Inventory #: ST20285)

$1,560.⁰⁰ add to cart or Buy Direct from
Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books

Offered by

Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books & Manuscripts

1709 NE 27th St. Suite G
McMinnville, OR 97128

info@pirages.com

(503) 472-0476

Specializing in Bindings, Medieval Manuscripts, Early Printed Books, STC & Wing Books, Incunabula, English & American Literature, Fine & Private Press, Illustrated Books, Medicine.

More from this seller

DAS GANZE NEUE TESTAMENT. [with] PSALMEN DAVIDS. [with] DIE KLEINE BIBEL: ODER: DER PSALTER DAVIDS

by (BINDINGS - VERMEIL). BIBLE IN GEMAN

Zurich : David Gessner , 1740, 1738, 1738
(click for more details)

DE NATURA DEORUM GENTILIUM COMMENTARIUS . . . PALAEPHATI POETICARUM FABULARUM EXPLICATIONES. [bound with] APULEIUS. METAMORPHOSEOS, SIVE DE ASINO AUREO LIBRI UNDECIM

by (BINDINGS - 16TH CENTURY SPANISH). CORNUTUS, LUCIUS ANNAEUS

Basel : [Johann Oporinus], 1543; Paris: Simon de Colines , 1536
(click for more details)

The ABAA
Promise

You can be confident that when you make a purchase through ABAA.org, the item is sold by an ABAA member in full compliance with our Code of Ethics. Our sellers guarantee your order will be shipped promptly and that all items are as described. Buy with confidence through ABAA.org.