Ladies' Hand-book of Baby Linen, The.
[Domestic]. The Ladies’ Hand-Book of Baby Linen. Containing plain and ample instructions for the preparation of an infant’s wardrobe. With additions by an American lady. New York: J.S. Redfield, 1844.
24mo.; line illustrations; 4 pages of publisher’s ads in the rear; contemporary ownership signature; a.e.g.; green cloth, pictorially stamped in gilt. In a specially made cloth slipcase.
First American edition of this rare, explicit and detailed manual; a splendid copy. According to the ads in the rear, this was the first in Redfield’s series of “Ladies’ Hand-books,” which also included Plain Needlework (No. 2); and Fancy Needlework and Embroidery (No. 3). The pocket-sized manual is divided into three chapters—Necessary articles for the first dress of an infant; Articles of dress necessary for an infant, from the period of shortening to two or more years of age; and Baby cradle-linen, etc.—with an introduction and conclusion which stress the responsibilities of parenting and reinforce the notion that the possibilities for the adult life of a properly cared for infant are virtually limitless, within respected gender constraints:
In that little embryo human being, are lodged, faculties and powers, which if rightly directed, may tend to the further development of art, the perfection of science, or the adornment of the literature of the age and country. He may charm an audience to virtue by his powers of eloquence, “break the rod of the oppressor” by his fervid and devoted patriotism, or allure the rebel spirit back to its God and Savior, by his Christian zeal and fervent piety.
Even the girl-child has potential:
…should the babe…be of the feebler sex, how transcendently glorious does the prospect
become, on the supposition that her feminine endowments are directed into their proper
channels, by a father’s enlightened judgment, and a mother’s warm and well-regulated
affections. Thus trained, under the influence of practical piety, and judicious parental
love, she will indeed become “like a corner stone, polished after the similitude of a
palace;” and to her, in all probability, will become strictly applicable, the delightful
picture drawn of the virtuous matron, by the wise king of Israel: “Her children rise up
and call her blessed; her husband also; and he praiseth her. Give her of the fruits of her
hands, and let her own works praise her in the gate.”
“Under the influence of these sentiments,” the authors continue, this volume has been compiled, for the benefit of:
those who have a reasonable ground of expectation that, at no distant period, they will be called upon to sustain the important and arduous character of mothers. …The aim of the author has been to make the various directions at once concise the clear; and, at the same time, to give an elevated moral tone to the whole, worthy of the subject treated.
After three chapters of practical instructions to “the young mother expectant… as will enable her to prepare with neatness, economy, and elegance, everything necessary for the comfort and convenience of the anxiously-awaited little one,” the authors conclude with some advice on the preservation of emotional balance:
[W]e know that during the period of preparation for the anticipated event, anxious cares and mischievous forebodings will often-times intrude. These should be guarded against with the most assiduous care…Cheerful conversation, well-selected reading, and moderate exercise in the open air, are all of the most essential service…Above all, let a spirit of cheerful resignation, and undoubting confidence in the unmixed goodness of the Supreme and Almighty Father, be the pole-star of every hope. Let her who is anticipating being speedily called to the performance of maternal duties, cast all her care upon and carefully copy in her life and character the example of, the Lord Jesus; and she will find a consolation and a calm which earth can neither give nor take away
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