ÆSOP'S FABLES, IN FRENCH; With a Description of Fifty Animals, Mentioned Therein and a French and English Dictionary of All the Words Contained in the Work

Philadelphia: Lindsay & Blakiston, 1849. Very good.. Early edition of this French reader for young US learners, published as the cracks that would lead to the Civil War began to form. The world economic status of the US in 1849 was strong, due in no small part to the country's ability to produce cotton cheaply through the labor of enslaved people. With the rise of Industrial Revolution technology, people were able to move around the globe faster than every before – an urban American student learning French in this period was not only engaging in mental stimulation, but actually stood a chance of using their skills to eventually converse with a real French person. ÆSOP'S FABLES, IN FRENCH was published during this period, offering moral anecdotes alongside "those idiomatic forms of speech" that "characterize a language" (Advertisement).
Scarce; OCLC locates only one holding of this edition. Duodecimo. 6'' x 3.5''. Original textured sheep-backed pink boards. 238 pages, collated complete. Early partially removed ownership label to front board, with last name Stocker. Early pencil ownership inscription to second blank. Early ink ownership inscription to page 3, matching ownership label. Scattered pencil annotations to margins. Binding with wear, some dampstaining; careful repair to lower spine. Leaves with light foxing and occasional toning. Sound.