Religious Emblems; being a series of Emblematic Engravings, with written explanations, miscellaneous observations, and religious reflections, designed to illustrate divine truth in accordance with the cardinal principles of Christianity.

BARBER, John Warner (1798-1885) - HOLMES, William.

Published by New Haven: John W. Barber, 1846.

About this Item

8vo., (7 6/8 x 4 6/8 inches). Wood-engraved frontispiece on yellow paper and illustrated throughout with engraved vignettes (spotted and stained throughout). Contemporary half black morocco, red paper boards, gilt (a bit worn at the extremities). Barber said that his "primary ambition was to "preach the Gospel by means of pictures." Five of his first seven publications had religious themes, and his New England Primer incorporated engravings of Christian stories to teach reading. Four of these works were directed toward children. Although Barber was a religious man, he was also aware that children's literature was a rapidly growing market, especially among the educated middle class. "Barber's most productive work, however, was in history. In 1827 he traveled around the country in a horse and wagon, interviewing witnesses to local historical events and collecting data from books, newspapers, gravestones, and other sources that he thought would yield useful information on the nation's past. He published his findings in Historical Scenes in the United States and illustrated his text with his own engravings of scenes of America's early settlement. Although the book was not well received, Barber's use of local data became the methodology of his future historical work. He was more successful in 1831 with History and Antiquities of New Haven, which was followed in 1836 by a history of Connecticut. In 1839 he published Massachusetts Historical Collections, then in 1840 entered into a partnership with Henry Howe to write a history of New York State, which was followed by Historical Collections of the State of New Jersey in 1844. The team of Barber and Howe followed the same formula that was initially successful for Barber: they traveled around gathering material and conducting interviews, primarily of old people. They then compiled their data and divided states into geographic or political sections, described each with statistics, anecdotes, or long quotations from printed sources, and illustrated the material with engravings. The results were collections of history and folklore. Their goal was "to give faithful representations, rather than picturesque scenery, or beautiful specimens of art" (Michael T. Johnson for ANB). Catalogued by Kate Hunter.

Seller Inventory # 72lib1135

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Religious Emblems; being a series of Emblematic Engravings, with written explanations, miscellaneous observations, and religious reflections, designed to illustrate divine truth in accordance with the cardinal principles of Christianity.
• Publisher: New Haven: John W. Barber, 1846.
• Binding: Hardcover
• Seller catalogs:
  • New England
  • Religion