ENGLISH READER, LINDLEY MURRAY, 1822, PUBLISHED IN EXETER, NH, LANGUAGE IMPROVEMENT
Item History & Price
Up for bid, from smoke free home: The English Reader; or Pieces in Prose & Poetry Selected from the Best Writers. 'Designed To Assist Young Persons To Read With Propriety And Effect; To Improve Their Language And Sentiments; And To Inculcate Some Of The Most Important Principles Of Piety And Virtue. With a Few Observations on the Principles of Good Reading By Lindley Murray Published in 1822 by John J. Williams of Exeter, NH, this title is a... standard 1800s student language improvement resource. The leather covers are very worn & scuffed with major chipping at the spine ends. The rear cover is detached but present.Internally, there is some foxing. Owner’s name& gift inscription is on the front free endpaper. The paper used in this time period is sturdier & less prone to tearing than paper used in the late 19th century onward. Table of Contents: Preface Introduction Part I. Pieces in ProseSelect Sentences and ParagraphsNarrative PiecesDidactic PiecesArgumentative PiecesDescriptive PiecesPathetic PiecesDialoguesPublic SpeechesPromiscuous Pieces Part II. Pieces in PoetrySelect Sentences and ParagraphsNarrative PiecesDidactic PiecesDescriptive PiecesPathetic PiecesPromiscuous Pieces The Scholar’s Appendix to the English Reader, In Two Parts.I. The Complete Parsing Grammar Consisting of a Short System of Grammar Condensed from Murray’s Together with a Full Collection of the Rules of Parsing; Intended for the convenience of schools where the English Reader is used as aparsing book.II. A Defining Dictionary of the Principal Derivative Words in the English Language, Extracted from Johnson and Walker. For the use of those who wish to read intelligently without constant recurrence to a separate dictionary. The whole being intended to enhance the utility and convenience of the English Reader.Lindley Murray (27 March 1745 – 16 February 1826), was an American Quaker who moved to England and became a writer and grammarian.Lindley Murray was born in Pennsylvania, on 27 March 1745. His father, Robert Murray, a member of an old Quaker family, was one of the leading New York merchants. Contrary to his inclinations, he was placed when only fourteen in his father's counting-house. In spite of endeavors to foster in him the commercial spirit, the lad's interests were mainly concentrated in science and literature. His father still desired him to apply himself to commerce, but he stated arguments in favor of a literary profession so ably in writing that his father's lawyer advised him to let the lad study law. Four years later Murray was called to the bar, and practiced as counsel and attorney in the province of New York. At the age of twenty-two he married, and in 1770 came to England, whither his father had preceded him.On the Declaration of independence he returned to New York, and was so successful that he retired in 1783 to a beautiful place on the Hudson.As Murray's health was failing, he decided to try the English climate. In 1784, he left America and never returned. The remainder of his life was spent in literary pursuits at Holgate, near York. His library became noted for its theological and philological treasures. His attention was then drawn to the want of suitable lesson-books for a Friends' school for girls in York, and in 1795 he published his English Grammar. The work became rapidly popular; it went through nearly fifty editions, was edited, abridged, simplified, and enlarged in England and America, and for a long time was used in schools to the exclusion of all other grammar-books.In 1816, an edition corrected by the author was issued in 2vols. 8vo. An 'Abridgment' of this version by Murray, issued two years later, went through more than 120 editions of ten thousand each. It was printed at the New England Institution for the Blind in embossed characters, Boston, 1835, and translated into Marathi, Bombay, 1837. English Exercises followed(1797), with A Key (27th edit. London, 1847), and both works were in large demand. Murray's English Reader, Sequel, and Introduction, issued respectively 1799, 1800, and 1801 were equally successful, as well as the Lecteur Francais, 1802, and Introduction to the Lecteur Francais, 1807. An English Spelling Book, 1804, reached forty-four editions, and was translated into Spanish (Cadiz, 1841). Of a First Book for Children the 150th thousand, with portrait and woodcuts, was issued in 1859.More images available upon request.Please note that payment is expected within 3 days of purchase.Please feel free to ask questions.
