present state matrimony (1 Ergebnisse)

decorated ornaments, title and [*]2 (bookseller's advertisement) trimmed at head affecting half of first line and part of early ms. ex-libris, occasional slight toning, a few leaves a bit foxed (heavier to last two) or a trifle dusty at margins, small light marginal water stain to gathering A, pp. [4], 79, [1], [*]2 and last verso with advertisement of booksellers J. Buckland and J. Hawkins respectively, 8vo in 4s, mid-19thC English half calf over marbled boards, modern reback, extremities rubbed, 19thC bookplate of Philip Absalom to front pastedown, slightly later autograph Abraham Holmes Acworth inked to title. A good copy of the second edition of this most interesting pamphlet, written by 'Philogamus' ('lover of marriage'), from the genre of 'advice literature', entirely devoted to conjugal infidelity and unhappy marriages. First published in the same year, it seeks to explore the 'causes of cuckoldhom', which 'had grown so common', offering 'a vivid account of the gendered segregation within the public sphere' (Roulston, p.36). It provides a brief historical context, reaching out to antiquity, for infidelity and unhappy marriages, with observations on how ancient families worked. Causes include the corruption of morals, the wrong ways of educating youth, the mismatch in age and personality between husband and wife. For instance, young girls are generally left with teachers of education, dance, singing, etc., who are 'young smart Fellows, acquainted with all the rakish Arts of the Town'. Else, novel husbands may come immediately authoritative towards their wives, thus estranging them very quickly, or they may become very jealous, or betray their wives first, thus causing the wives to do the same. A very interesting work on early views of 'gendered' social space. Only LC and Washington State copies recorded in the US. ESTC N21008; Lowndes II, 1239. C. Roulston, 'Space and the Representation of Marriage in Eighteenth-Century Advice Literature', The 18thC, 48 (2008), pp.25-41.