Eclectic First Reader for Young Children Consisting of Progressive Lessons in Reading and Spelling Mostly in Easy Words of One and Two Syllables.

Cincinnati: Truman and Smith, 1838. Full Description:

M'GUFFEY, W.[illiam] H.[olmes]. The Eclectic First Reader for Young Children. Consisting of Progressive Lessons in Reading and Spelling Mostly in Easy Words of One and Two Syllables. Cincinnati: Truman and Smith, 1838.

Early edition of McGuffey's first Reader, prior to revised editions. The first edition was published in 1836 and was used for very young children. Twelvemo (5 15/16 x 3 7/8 inches; 150 x 98 mm). 72, [2, blank] pp. With numerous small woodcut illustrations throughout. We could find no copies of this or any earlier edition at auction.

Original quarter green (truncated) cloth over original printed boards. Boards very rubbed and soiled but holding strong. Some early ink numbers on front board. Previous owner's early ink inscription dates 1840 on front pastedown. Foxing and toning throughout as usual in American books of this time. Still a very good copy.

"McGuffey Readers, formally McGuffey’s Eclectic Readers, series of elementary school reading books that were widely used in American schools beginning in the 1830s. Compiled by educator William Holmes McGuffey, the McGuffey Readers helped to standardize English language usage in the United States and not only reflected the moral values of the country in the 19th century but also shaped them. With more than 122 million copies reputedly sold by 1925, the McGuffey Readers taught more Americans to read than any other textbook. The initial publication of the McGuffey Readers came at a critical point in the formation of a distinct identity for the United States and coincided with a unique period during which the West was settled, newly arrived immigrants assimilated, and the common-school movement gained momentum. These phenomena created a demand for textbooks that would not only meet the practical need for curriculum in developing schools but also extend prevailing American values both to children new to the frontier and to those new to the country. In the emerging textbook industry, McGuffey Readers reformed the content of America’s textbooks and the way that content was presented to students. The success of the McGuffey Readers owed much to the astute business tactics of Cincinnati, Ohio, publisher Winthrop B. Smith. Although publishers in New England dominated the growing textbook industry, Smith saw the need for a graded series of readers marketed to the burgeoning West and to the South. He first sought the assistance of fellow Cincinnatian Harriet Beecher Stowe, who, in addition to her literary endeavours, was a schoolteacher. Stowe declined Smith’s offer but recommended her friend McGuffey, a Presbyterian preacher and member of the faculty of Miami University, in nearby Oxford, Ohio, who had already begun work on a similar project. McGuffey contracted to compile a primer, four readers, and a speller." (Brittanica)

HBS 68838.

$3,000. (Inventory #: 68838)