Prisons and Prisoners. Inscribed by the author

1845. London: Longmans, Brown, Green, 1845.. London: Longmans, Brown, Green, 1845. A Presentation Copy to the Bishop of Lichfield Adshead, Joseph [1800-1861]. Prisons and Prisoners. London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longman, 1845. xvii, 320 pp. 2 copperplate illustrations, 1 folding. Lacking frontispiece; plate depicting Pentonville Prison obscured by darkening. Octavo (8-3/4" x 5-1/2"; 22 x 13.5 cm). Original textured cloth, rebacked, blind-stamped frames and ornaments to boards, endpapers retained, hinges mended. Light soiling to exterior, light rubbing to boards, gilt-stamped library name (Birmingham Law Society) to front board, moderate rubbing to board edges, small bookseller's ticket and library bookplate to front pastedown. Moderate toning to interior, negligible light foxing and soiling to a few pages, internally clean. Presentation inscription "His Grace the Bishop of Litchfield [sic]/ and Coventry./ With the Authors/ Compliments." to head of title page. Library stamps to title page and a few other leaves. A good copy. $150. * First edition. Adshead was a Manchester reformer and pamphleteer who served as an alderman for St. Anne's Ward and had a significant interest in penal reform. Prisons and Prisoners, like his other penal works, is broadly aligned with the views of Francis Lieber and argues in favor of the then-recent Pennsylvania system, also known as the "separate system." Based on Quaker beliefs in the redemptive power of silence and introspection, it put all convicts in solitary confinement. The separate system had come under increasing scrutiny, including by Charles Dickens, who wrote about the topic in American Notes (1842). Much of Prisons and Prisoners is dedicated to refuting these attacks, including a chapter titled "The Fictions of Dickens upon Solitary Confinement." Ultimately, critics of the Pennsylvania system were vindicated. The deprivation of social contact proved to be detrimental to the mental health of inmates. Some lost their sanity. This copy of Prisons and Prisoners was presented to John Lonsdale [1788-1867], who served as bishop of Lichfield from 1843 until his death. Lonsdale had entered Lincoln's Inn before his ordination in the Church of England, returning as the Inn's preacher from 1836-1843. He also served as principal of King's College, London, where he had a significant administrative role in the college and the hospital. He likely would.