Letters to a Young Lady, on a Variety of Useful and Interesting Subjects, Calculated to Improve the heart, to form the manners, and enlighten the understanding…The Third Edition.
London: Printed for T. Cadell, Jun. and W. Davies... 1803. First published in 1789, this courtesy book in epistolary form went through a number of editions, both in England and America. The author, a clergyman who also wrote Strictures on Female Education (1780) aimed to “rouse young ladies from a vacant or insipid life, into one of usefulness and laudable exertion to recall them from visionary novels and romance into solid reading and reflection and from the criminal absurdities of fashion, to the simplicity of nature and the dignity of virtue. He has attempted a method of uniting, in their character, the graces with the virtues; an amiable heart with elegant manners and an enlightened understanding. Minor signs of insect damage on the back cover of Volume II, but a fine, bright copy. Early ink signature on title-page of each volume (“Maria Frances Montgomery”), engraved bookplate of the same owner (“M.F. Montgomery Convoy”). Contemporary tree calf, Gilt-decorated flat spines with red and black morocco labels. Two volumes, twelvemo. pp. [iii]-xx. 240; [2], 264 pp. Bound without the half-titles. Item #15550
Price: $600.00