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A COMPLETE SET OF THE SMALL BOOKS ON GREAT SUBJECTS SERIES.
(London: William Pickering (and John W. Parker and Son), 1843-57). 170 x 103 mm. (6 3/4 x 4 1/8"). 22 volumes bound as 13. Second Edition of volumes I, III, V, VI, VIII, XI, XV, XVII. Third Edition of volume II. FIRST EDITIONS of the other 13 volumes.
Pleasing contemporary calf by Leighton (stamp-signed on verso of front flyleaf), covers framed with a double blind rule, raised bands, spine compartments with a single gilt sun tool, russet morocco labels lettered in gilt, all edges sprinkled. First volume with one plate depicting the brain, and one illustration in the text depicting the brains of different animals.
Final volume with an ad for the complete series by John W. Parker. A few light scratches, scuffs, and spots to leather, each volume with offset from ribbon page marker, other trivial defects, but a fine and attractive set--extraordinarily fresh and clean internally, in bindings essentially without wear.
Containing a rarely seen complete run of 22 separate works in 13 volumes, this attractive set represents the joint efforts of a female Victorian polymath and major publisher William Pickering to introduce the general public to a very wide range of subjects, partly to contribute to general popular education, and partly to alert the public to the need for reform. Caroline Cornwallis (1786-1858) was a writer, scholar, and feminist activist whose life-long self-directed course of study led her to explore subjects as diverse as mineralogy, theology, Tuscan law, and the Ancient Egyptian language. In 1842, the first work in the "Small Books on Great Subjects" series appeared, authored anonymously by Cornwallis (she is named only as "A Pariah," and the editorship of the series is credited to "A Few Well-Wishers to Knowledge"). Along with initiating and editing the series, Cornwallis composed all but four of the books herself (the second and third numbers were written by John Barlow, #15 by Wilhelm von Humboldt, and #16 by David Power). The works cover philosophy, psychology, chemistry, Greek philosophy, Christian history and theology, biology, law, grammar, geology, politics, and more, and proved to be a great success in Britain and America. Some of the volumes are histories of general interest ("A Brief View of Greek Philosophy up to the Age of Pericles" and "Christian Sects in the Nineteenth Century"); others are of significant scientific content ("The Connection Between Physiology and Intellectual Philosophy" and "On Man’s Power Over Himself to Prevent or Control Insanity); still others are strongly reformist in thrust ("On the Principles of Criminal Law," decrying the harshness of punitive Victorian laws, and "On the Philosophy of Ragged Schools," dealing with the pressing issue of educating London's poor). Initially, "Small Books on Great Subjects" was published by William Pickering, but upon his 1853 bankruptcy, John W. Parker took over the series. Stray volumes of this series are readily available, but complete sets, especially in the condition seen here, are much more difficult to find. (ST20896)
Price: $1,800.00