1820s Books

AUTHOR: GIBBON, Edward. TITLE: The History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire. PUBLISHER: London: for many, 1828. DESCRIPTION: A UNIQUE EXTRA ILLUSTRATED COPY. 8 vols., ...

AUTHOR: BRATHWAIT, Richard (Joseph Haslewood - editor). TITLE: Barnabae Itenerarium, or Barnabee's Journal. PUBLISHER: London: Np, 1820. DESCRIPTION: 2 vols., l6mo, 5-1/8" - 4-1/...

A 19 volume leatherbound set of the complete works of Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) second edition, published by Archibald Constable & Co. Edinburgh and Hurst Robinson & Co. London, 182...

Antique Japanese epic novel book Edo period, circa 1827 Woodblock print book Book dimensions: 228 mm x 159 mm. There are damages because it is antique item as we show on the p...

A rare first edition of Washington Irving's "Tales of a Traveler" published under the pseudonym Geoffrey Crayon by John Murray Albemarle-Street, London 1824. Bound in 3/4 calf with ...

By George Howard. A lovely and finely bound first edition work on the Lady Jane Grey and her life and times, a smart extra illustrated copy with a total of thirty-three plates. Th...

AUTHOR: PLANCHE, James Robinson. TITLE: The Vampire; or, The Bride of The Isles. A Romantic Melo-Drama, in Two Acts: Proceeded by An Introductory Vision. As Performed at The Theatr...

15 Volumes. James Boswell, Esq. The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. Bound in full green morocco with a gilt border. Raised band spine gilt with panels dis...

AUTHOR: SHELLEY, Mary. TITLE: PRESUMPTION! Or, The Fate Of Frankenstein. Third Night of New Ballad Opera. Theatre Royal, English Opera House, Strand...

6 Volumes. (Anon) Celebrated Trials and Remarkable Cases of Criminal Jurisprudence. Bound in full speckled multi-color tan calf with covers displaying ornate floral gilt-tooled borde...

2 Volumes. Museo Borbonico, Raccolta de Monumenti più Interessanti. Bound in full green morocco with very ornate gilt-tooled border details. Raised bands gilt with panels displaying ...

Torrey, Jr. Jesse. A Mental Museum for the Rising Generation. With an Appendix, Containing the Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the First Free Circulating Library &c. : Designed for the Middle Classes of Readers in American Schools and Families. Adapted to American Customs and Manners, and Proposed as a Substitute for Foreign Compilations Or Reading Lessons. Philadelphia: Thomas Desilver, 1829. 16mo. In original gilt stamped leather and paper boards with a new archival slipcase. This is a first edition printing of Jesse Torrey Jr.’s "A Mental Museum for the Rising Generation." Published in Philadelphia by Thomas Desilver in 1829, this beautiful book is presented in its original gilt stamped leather and paper boards. Divided into three sections, this book was “designed for the middle classes of Readers in American Schools and Families.” Collectors will appreciate this prime example of early childhood educational text, as well as consider it for its Appendix, which includes very early printings of "The Declaration of Independence," "The Constitution of the United States," and the "Constitution of the First Free Circulating Library." "A Mental Museum for the Rising Generation" was one of several books written by Torrey to entertain, instruct, and edify children and young adults. The book is divided into three parts, as indicated on the title page, “PART I - Familiar conversations on Natural History and the Universe, Reflections on Providence, etc. Part II - Lessons calculated to excite a taste for Reading and Mental Improvement - on Industry, Economy, Preservation of Health, etc. Part III - Various Instructive and Entertaining Articles and Poetry.” The Appendix contains a very early printing of "The Declaration of Independence" and the "Constitution of the United States", as well as the "Constitution of the First Free Circulating Library." Jesse Torrey, Jr., (1787 – 1834) was an American physician, writer, and ardent advocate for abolition, the American education system, and free public libraries. Torrey is most celebrated as an abolitionist who gathered first-hand narratives of African Americans and eye-witness accounts by white observers of slavery and kidnapping. He published these, along with his personal observations, in an early 1817 anti-slavery book, "A Portraiture of Slavery in the United States." Torrey also wrote juvenile guides to moral philosophy, natural history and government. Torrey argued that young readers were important to the early American imagination of its populace, both in terms of the reading public and the broader national community of citizens. He believed that children were not merely witnesses to American history and governance, but rather young reading practices played a crucial role in establishing a free, educated, and engaged populace. To this end, Torrey was the founder of the free public library movement in the United States. In 1804, at the age of 16, he established the Library of the “New Lebanon...