Observations of the Importance of Female Education, and Maternal Instruction, with their Beneficial Influence on Society.
Mott On Female Education
Mott, Abigail Field. Observations of the Importance of Female Education, and Maternal Instruction, with their Beneficial Influence on Society. By a mother. New York: Mahlon Day, 1825.
12mo.; contemporary presentation; quarter-morocco with a few minor abrasions. In a specially made quarter-morocco slipcase.
First edition of Mott’s first book, preceded by periodical and gift-book appearances; quite scarce. With a separately printed copyright notice affixed to the verso of the title page, establishing February 7, 1825 as the official publication date.
Educational reformer Abigail Mott (1766-1851) fought for educational equality for women, and educational opportunity for blacks. Two of her contributions to the abolitionist movement were widely reprinted: the most enduring is her landmark work Biographical Sketches And Interesting Anecdotes Of People Of Colour (NY, 1826). Written essentially as a teaching guide for her classes at the New York Manumission Society’s Free School, Biographical Sketches was the first attempt at any sort of biographical dictionary of African Americans, and remains one of the best early resources. The other is her Class Book, printing excerpts from her students’ writings at the Free School; it was reprinted at least six times from 1828 through 1854.
Her first book, Observations on the Importance of Female Education, lays the groundwork for what would become the standard language of the early feminists, discussing the historical importance of women’s roles in society, stressing that society will benefit when these roles are expanded. One argument she makes is fairly uncommon, suggesting that women must change their behavior if they are to be accorded the respect they deserve:
If females would but maintain their proper dignity, and not give any just grounds for the unfavourable discountenance that familiarity which gives confidence to the other sex, and often induces them to behave in a way which they themselves know to be inconsistent, it would contribute very much to the improvement of society, and relieve them from many unnecessary anxieties.
Her brief preface explains her conception of the book as a whole:
Being early convinced that many advantages arise from the proper cultivation of the youthful mind, and that pious maternal care is the first step towards its accomplishment, I have occasionally, when reading, selected such sentiments upon education, as accorded with my own. And when a leisure moment has offered, I have also penned some of my own reflections on this interesting subject. Having, by these means, made the following collection, I am induced to lay it before the public, with a hope, that it may, in some degree, promote the cause of virtue.
A search through RLIN, OCLC, NUC and American Imprints reveals only three copies; all other locations possess microfilm copies. Mott, clearly influential in her lifetime, has suffered the fate of countless pioneers in forwarding the feminist and abolitionist causes; less known now than her niece (by marriage), Lucretia Mott, Abigail is now experiencing a resurgence in the recognition of her valuable work.
(#1346)
Print Inquire
