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Collection

History of the Four Quarters of the Globe, 1791-1793

1 volume

This volume, compiled between 1791 and 1793, contains detailed geographical, historical, and other descriptive accounts of Western Europe and the Americas, as well as a general history of astronomy. Appendices include an index of geographic locations and a general timeline of world history, with a focus on Biblical events and European affairs. This is the third volume of a 3-volume work.

This is the third and final volume of a multi-volume work (pages 508-966) written by "I. C. Junr." between November 3, 1791, and March 4, 1793. The cover of the 460-page volume is hand-tooled in gold leaf and bears the title "Manuscript Account from Germany to Turkey in Europe with a Description of America Finishing with a Copious Explanation of the Terrestrial & Celestial Globes." The author's concluding remarks refer to it as a "History of the Four Quarters of the Globe," begun around November 1789 (p. 880). The work includes geographic, historic, and descriptive accounts of Western Europe and the Americas, a geographic index, a timeline of events in world history, a general history of astronomy, and an index. He notes that the previous volumes described Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe.

The book begins with a partial description of Germany, continued from the previous volume. Further geographically-organized sections focus on other Continental powers, islands in the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, and the Americas. Each section opens with a general description of a nation's history, geography, people, cities, and (sometimes) important buildings. The author included information on soil quality, climate, and the people, often commenting separately on men and women, and on common religious beliefs. Charts, lists, or other quantitative data accompany some of the descriptions. The author treated several "American States" individually, though New England is described as a singular entity.

The appendices include a table of geographical information about cities, islands, and landmarks (pp. 882-889); a timeline of world history from the Creation of the World in 4004 BC to 1784 AD, focusing on Europe and listing Biblical events, deaths of notable people, and political developments (pp. 890-904); a history of astronomy (pp. 905-917); and additional information on land, water, tides, winds, and stars (pp. 918-965). Celestial information includes tables of zodiac signs (p. 926) and a list of constellations (pp. 927-928). The geographical information is followed by definitions, solutions, problems, and paradoxes (pp. 939-965). The mathematical, navigational, and geographical problems and solutions are presented in a question-and-answer teaching format (similar to Isaac Watts's The Knowledge of the Heavens and the Earth Made Easy or Joseph Randall's A System of Geography, for example).

Collection

Joseph Hopkinson, Puerile Essays, 1787-1789

1 volume

This volume, titled "Puerile Essays addressed to the Philomathian Society," contains 11 essays (93 pages) composed by Joseph Hopkinson for the Philomathian Society of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and for other debating societies between March 17, 1787, and October 1789. He discussed a variety of topics related to contemporary American social customs, such as dancing, happiness, the desirability of luxury, family relationships, and astronomy.

This volume, titled "Puerile Essays addressed to the Philomathian Society," contains 11 essays (93 pages) composed by Joseph Hopkinson for the Philomathian Society of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and for other debating societies between March 17, 1787, and October 1789. He discussed a variety of topics related to contemporary American social customs, such as dancing, happiness, the desirability of luxury, family relationships and astronomy.

Joseph Hopkinson joined the Philomathian Society on March 14, 1787, and left in June 1788, shortly after the Philomathians joined with the Commercial Society to form the Literary and Commercial Society. The essays, each between 5 and 12 pages long, record Hopkinson's views on a diverse array of topics, many of which reflect contemporary social customs and concerns. Hopkinson defended dancing as a method to develop gracefulness and good health, denounced the development of national prejudices, and discussed development of customs as individual habits and as societal norms. He reflected on the idea of universal happiness, suggesting that it is tied to wealth, and supported the pursuit of luxury as a desirable moral aim. Two essays pertain to relationships between parents and their children, and one briefly relates the history of astronomy. Though Hopkinson left the literary society in 1788, he continued to compose essays until October 1789. In one piece, addressed to the Belles Lettres Society, Hopkinson gave his negative opinion of juvenile debating societies, arguing that they foster disagreement rather than promote original thought. In another, he countered an argument about the desirability of periodical publications, originally presented by a man named Wilkins.

The volume has Randolph G. Adams's bookplate. An obituary for Major Charles Biddle Hopkinson, Joseph Hopkinson's grandson, is pasted in the inside front cover.