The Language of the Eye: The Importance and Dignity of the Eye as Indicative of General Character, Female Beauty, and Manly Genius.

Joseph Turnley. Illustrated by Gilbert, Anelay, etc.

Published by London: Partridge and Co., Paternoster Row, 1856., London, 1856

About this Item

Author: Joseph Turnley. Illustrated by Gilbert, Anelay, etc.
Title: The Language of the Eye: The Importance and Dignity of the Eye as Indicative of General Character, Female Beauty, and Manly Genius.
Publisher: London: Partridge and Co., Paternoster Row, 1856.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 8.5 x 5.5 inches.
Pages: 118 pages.
Binding: Attractive and very good, publisher?s original rich red cloth binding, elaborately decorated in full gilt with ornate Victorian floral and arabesque designs to the front board and spine, enclosed within a gilt-ruled border (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown, light rubbing to extremities, very slight wear to spine ends ? as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. All edges gilt. A striking and highly decorative mid-19th-century gilt cloth binding.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light foxing and staining particularly to plates and preliminaries ? as shown, early ink signature to front blank page dated 1920 - as shown). 
Illustrations: Complete with a frontispiece portrait of the author and 9 full-page plates depicting expressions, physiognomic types, and symbolic interpretations of the eye.

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The book: A fascinating and visually engaging 1856 Victorian treatise on physiognomy and the expressive power of the human eye ? blending moral philosophy, pseudoscience, aesthetics, and the era?s fascination with character reading. The Language of the Eye explores themes such as general expression, national expression, genius, innocence, love, sorrow, dignity, and beauty, each accompanied by engraved illustrations reflecting mid-Victorian ideals of physiognomic ?types.?

The work exemplifies the 19th-century cultural preoccupation with reading personality through physical features, particularly the eyes, considered the chief ?index? of moral and emotional life. This Partridge & Co. edition is especially appealing for its lavishly gilt-decorated publisher?s binding, a hallmark of mid-century gift books and domestic literature.

Seller Inventory # ABE-1763148348855

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Language of the Eye: The Importance and Dignity of the Eye as Indicative of General Character, Female Beauty, and Manly Genius.
• Publisher: London: Partridge and Co., Paternoster Row, 1856., London
• Publication Date: 1856
• Language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Gilbert, Anelay, etc.
• Edition: Illustrated Edition
• Condition: Very Good