Observations of the Importance of Female Education, and Maternal Instruction, with their Beneficial Influence on Society.
Association Copy
[Education]. Mott, Abigail Field. Observations of the Importance of Female Education, and Maternal Instruction, with their Beneficial Influence on Society. Designed to be used as a class book. By a mother. To which is added, an appendix, containing briefs hints to parents, on the subject of education, and hints to young people on the duties of civil life. By James Mott. New York: Mahlon Day, 1827.
12mo.; inscription offset onto facing page; foxed; brown cloth stamped in gilt and blind; extremities worn; covers soiled. In a specially made cloth slipcase.
Second edition; with a forty-eight page Appendix, an Index at the rear, and an “Advertisement” at the beginning by Abigail Mott. The author of the appendix is her nephew James Mott (Lucretia Mott’s husband). (His grandfather, also named James, had three sons named Richard, Robert and Samuel. Richard married Abigail Field circa 1787.) An association copy, inscribed: Jane Rowell/from her sincere/friend/Eliza Field. Field (1801-1871), a lifelong invalid, was the sister of Hannah, Ann and Sarah, who kept daybooks recording Eliza’s illnesses. The Fields and the Mott families were both Quaker, and lived in Westchester County, New York.
Mott’s Observations is in ten chapters, with titles including “Parental and filial love,” “The example of Queen Esther,” “Presence of mind essential to our comfort and preservation,” “Domestic concerns,” “Modesty,” and “Marriage.” Her nephew’s Appendix covers several topics, ranging from “Freedom between parents and children,” “Reservedness and severity,” “Improper indulgence,” “Harmony in Families,” “Truth and sincerity,” “Industry and economy,” and “Religion.” He advocates practicing impartiality in families, controlling one’s temper toward children, abstaining from corporal punishment in children, and promoting virtues like generosity, truth and justice. In the section addressed to children, Mott advises, “according to what you sow, you shall reap” (p. 25).
A compelling familial connection between the Field and Mott families, and a testament to their moral and religious values.
(#9469)
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