Sketches of the geography, people, and institutions of the United States, 1840-1850.

0.42 linear feet (1 box)

English

Purchased from William Reese Company on the Edwin J. Beinecke Book Fund, 2008.

This material is open for research.

Abraham John Mason, British wood engraver, author, and orator, was born in London, England, on April 4, 1794. He lived and worked in the United States from 1829 to 1839, and was elected an associate of National Academy of Design. Mason returned to London in 1839 and lived there until 1856 when he sailed for Australia; he died in Sydney on August 18, 1858.

Two bound volumes (232 and 261 pages) containing containing eight lectures, autograph manuscript, with revisions, written by Abraham John Mason in 1840, the year after he returned to live in London following a decade of residency in the United States. The titles of the lectures are: I. Geography, Statistics &c. Eastern and Middle States. II. Geography, Statistics &c. Southern and Western States. III. Government, Constitution, Elections, &c. IV. Festivals, Manners, Currency, &c. V. Trade, Farming, Factories, Steam Boats, &c. VI. Canals, Travelling, Fires, Education, &c. VII. Literature, Law, Religion, Prisons, &c. VIII. Colored Population and Slaves. The first two lectures present a thorough and personal account of American cities and regions, with an emphasis on New York, where Mason lived and worked. The third lecture covers American history and government, and lectures four through seven describe American customs and institutions, as well as Mason's views, experiences, and conversations with people he had encountered. In lecture eight Mason considers slavery in the South, institutionalized racism in the North, statistical demographics, abolitionism, African colonization societies, recent emancipation in the Caribbean, and black education in America; he presents his views on American slavery as a moral crisis, and discusses the Oberlin Collegiate Institute (later Oberlin College) and its education policies and practices as a response. Laid in the second volume at page 200 are four sheets of paper on which he compared the entire population and number of slaves in each of the states in 1840 and 1850. Mason delivered the lectures at the London Mechanics' Institute in 1841 in a series he titled "A Course of Lectures on the Geography, People, and Institutions of the United States"; printed advertisements for the lectures are affixed to the front pastedowns of the volumes and list specific subjects covered in each lecture.

August 27, 2013

Abraham John Mason, Sketches of the Geography, People, and Institutions of the United States. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.

Abraham John Mason, Sketches of the Geography, People, and Institutions of the United States. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.

Lectures - England - 19th century.

Lecturers England 19th century.