Frontispiece and Title Page

So, here are the first few pages of the book, ignoring a couple of blank ones that aren't that interesting. I've resorted to taking photos as the fragility and size of the book does not lend itself well to being placed in a scanner. The angle that the frontispiece engraving sits on the page nicely demonstrates that the printing is definitely hand set.

This scene seems overly exaggerated to me. The well dressed man of natural philosophy and his wistfully adoring wife are one thing but surely that window is way too large, even for a palatial Georgian residence. I presume that the woodcut was chosen to appeal to respectable families of good means, or at least those who would like to see themselves as such. Nice to see that the intention is to educate women as well as children though. Bless their fragile brains, they obviously require a hand pointing to the hand indicating the moon! [I sincerely hope that I don't have to start pointing out the usage of sarcasm]

There is a name and date at the top of the title page, presumably written by the first owner of the book. I'm not entirely sure what the name is; the first two or three letters of the surname completely elude me. The date is fairly clearly August 15^th 1857.

Can anyone read what the name is? I have absolutely no idea

The printed text on the title page and the next is:

SCIENTIFIC DIALOGUES : 

INTENDED FOR

THE INSTRUCTION AND ENTERTAINMENT

OF

YOUNG PEOPLE.

IN WHICH THE

FIRST PRINCIPLES

OF

NATURAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PHILOSOPHY

ARE FULLY EXPLAINED

BY THE REV. J. JOYCE

New Edition, Complete in One Volume,

WITH TWO HUNDRED WOODCUTS.

"Conversation, with the habit of explaining the meaning of words, and the structure of common domestic implements, to children, is the sure and effectual method of preparing the mind for the acquirement of science. - Edgeworth's Practical Education

LONDON:

DARTON AND CO., 58, HOLBORN HILL.





LONDON;
PRINTED BY J. O. CLARKE, 121, FLEET STREET.

I'm not exactly a young person and I've been instructed in what my educators referred to as science but I still hope to be entertained by this volume. Interestingly, in the early 18^th century the word science referred to any knowledge acquired by study and the word scientist didn't exist until the mid 19^th, hence the phrase "Natural and Experimental Philosophy".

Practical Education was a book written by Maria Edgeworth and her father, Richard, at the very end of the 18^th century. This volume seems to have focussed on teaching young children through conversation and hands-on practical experiments. I have a copy on order, maybe when we're done with this book I can give that the same treatment. We have to bear in mind that schools of any sort were exceedingly rare prior to the 19^th century. Children went into work, apprenticeship, or private tutelage if the family was wealthy enough. These books were part of a liberal movement that continued and eventually resulted in an English school system available freely to all.

Darton and Co. on Holborn Hill was originally founded by William Darton in 1804 who seems to have been a Quaker publisher of "juvenile literature" and jigsaw puzzles; his father, also called William, had been in the same trade since 1787.

I haven't been able to find anything about J. O. Clarke, the printer at Fleet Street. However,  the marvellous art-deco Daily Express Building was built at that address in the 1930s.

Click on the images to biggenate