Mary Swift, Natural Philosophy, cover

Resource added
Title page for First Lessons on Natural Philosophy for Children: Part Second by American author Mary Swift, published by Belnap and Hamersley in 1837. Held at the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, 15h3332. The entire 1851 edition with the same images is available to view or download through the Digital Collections of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida. https://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00031637/00001/flipbook/0

Full description

The cover for Swift’s natural history book for younger children depicts a man raising a ladder to the side of a house. The ladder ambiguously captures both the physical labor of repairing homes, the ladder of learning, and the principle of a fulcrum, as the man pushes the ladder against the house. The illustration thus uses physical labor to capture a child's intellectual progress, from matter to mechanical literacy, by learning mechanical philosophy.

  • type
    Image
  • created on
  • file format
    jpg
  • file size
    164 KB
  • container title
    Mary A. Swift, First Lessons on Natural Philosophy for Children: Part Second (Hartford: Belknap and Hamersley, 1837).
  • credit
    Courtesy of the Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida
  • rights
    Public Domain