Family Lectures by Mrs. N. Sproat
Boston: Samuel T. Armstrong, 1819. First Printing. Hardcover. Small 8vo, 6.5 x 3.5 inches, publisher's drab tan-green boards with remains of original spine label, fair copy, covers somewhat rubbed and worn, light restoration along front joint and some touching-up with watercolor (whoever did it didn't get the color quite right), spine worn and creased, remains of some very old brown cloth along rear outer joint, text good, a bit toned and foxed, p. 104/105 with some loss and old repairs, resulting in the loss of some letters (see pic). Ownership signature on title page of Sarah Partridge, Medway (MA): she has written a several-line poem called "A Book Neglected" on verso of flyleaf. Text a bit foxed and toned throughout. Uncommon in the trade. The author wrote juveniles and other books for the moral education of children, some under the pseudonym Goody Lovechild, and was a lifelong resident of Boston. We don't know much else about her. These lectures -- there are 45 of them -- tend to be on religious, moralistic and spiritual themes, occasionally conduct, behavior and etiquette as well -- meant for adults. Fair. Item #H25092
Price: $50.00