Pictures of All Nations, with Simple Descriptions
London: Darton and Clark, n.d. [1840s?]. Paperback. colored vignette on title-page followed by 16 leaves printed on one side with a hand colored illustration on the top half and text below, and ending with a page advertising Mrs. Sherwood's New Sixpenny Books, with Colored Plates. Printed wrapper, with a small illustration on front cover an a larger illustration of a dog on the back). 16cm. Wrapper split at fold, chipped at corners, and rather heavily soiled. First few text leaves detached; some relatively minor corner chipping and dog-earing on text leaves. Needs restoration. An uncommon little children's book; OCLC lists only one copy (Univ. of Chicago). Each text page describes the characteristics and customs of the inhabitants of various countries or regions of the world and the illustrations depict a typical male and female. From the descriptions it seems clear that the English are the best and most reasonable of all peoples; Highlanders, the Swiss and the Swedes are also described in positive terms. The description of other peoples makes it clear that they have one or more national character flaws. Thus, Africans are "very ignorant and uncivilized; the customs of the Turks are "very peculiar;" Esquimaux are "strangers to the arts of civilized life;" Italians are "prone to indolence and pleasure;" Laplanders are "very fond of brandy when they can get it;" Spaniards are "superstitious, haughty, and insatiably revengeful;" the Chinese are "cunning and dishonest, and have a great dislike to Europeans;" Arabians "subsist in a great measure by plunder;" the Portuguese are "superstitious and very revengeful;" the Dutch are "generally very stout and clumsily made" and are also "unsocial in their manners, and much addicted to covetousness;" the French are "generally of a frivolous character;" and, finally, the Russians are "coarse and stupid, and in their manners are half barbarians." North Americans, other than the Esquimaux, are not mentioned. Fair. Item #69786
Price: $125.00