The Natural History of Man; Comprising Inquirys inte the Modifying Influence of Physical and Moral Agencies on the Different Tribes of the Human Family. By James Cowles Prichard. Second Edition, Enlarged, with Forty-Four Coloured and Five Plain Illustrations Engraved on Steel, and Ninety-Seven Engravings on wood.

PRICHARD, James Cowles.

About this Item

London, Hippolyte Bailliers, 1845. 8vo. xvii,+ (blank),+ 596 pp.+ 45 engraved plates, of which 40 are hand-coloured (with 44 illustrations). Richly illustrated in the text. All colour plates with tissue guards. Slight off-setting to the b&w plates. Contemporary black half calf, rebacked spine gilt with raised bands and somewhat rubbed red label, boards with gilt frame, marbled edges. Second and enlarged edition of Prichard?s ?The Natural History of Man?, first published in 1843 with only 36 colour plates. It?s a popular and condensed version of his larger ?Researches Into the Physical History of Mankind?, published in five volumes 1836-47. The 44 fine hand coloured illustrations come from different sources, among them Catlin. James Cowles Prichard (1786-1848) was a British physician and anthropologist, and an early scientist in the emerging discipline of ethnology, the study of the human race.His thesis is that all humans are part of a single specie, rather than made up of separate races, thus holding to the biblical notion of man derived from a single being. He was raised as a Quaker and remained devoutly Christian throughout his life even if he converted to Anglicanism. In the early editions he also claims that the human race from the beginning probably was dark skinned and that the whiteness of the white man developed under the influence of civilization (PMM pp. 183-4). He was an early member of the Aborigines' Protection Society. Beside his ethnographical works he also in 1835 published the important ?Treatise of insanity?.

Seller Inventory # 116161

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Natural History of Man; Comprising Inquirys inte the Modifying Influence of Physical and Moral Agencies on the Different Tribes of the Human Family. By James Cowles Prichard. Second Edition, Enlarged, with Forty-Four Coloured and Five Plain Illustrations Engraved on Steel, and Ninety-Seven Engravings on wood.
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Very Good
• Book Type: Hardcover / Hardback