Elements of Materialism: Inculcating the idea of a future state, in which all will be more happy, under whatever circumstances they may be placed than if they experienced no misery in this life

Knowlton, Charles

Published by for the Author, by A. Oakey, Adams, Mass, 1829

About this Item

First edition. viii, [9]-448 pp. 8vo. First and only edition of this utopian mediation on materialism which explores the physiological, social, psychological, and spiritual effects of environmental conditions and the laws of physics on individual behavior an early foray into what would come to be known as behavoirism. "The book did not sell, and the cost of its publication left Knowlton heavily in debt. Robert Dale Owen invited him, nevertheless, to address other freethinkers in Manhattan, and it was probably through Owen that Knowlton conceived the work that would gain him international fame, Fruits of Philosophy . the first popular manual on contraception by an American physician" (ANB). This copy bears the ownership signature of another well-known Massachusetts physician of the era, the homeopath Samuel Bancroft Barlow (1798-1876). Egbert II p 195; Shoemaker 39237. Provenance: Samuel B[ancroft]. Barlow (contemporary ink signature to f.f.e.p.); Chas. C. Holcombe, W. Grenville (ownership signature penciled to f.f.e.p.) Contemporary calf. Foxing throughout, head of spine chipped, some rubbing and wear to boards.

Seller Inventory # 309240

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Elements of Materialism: Inculcating the idea of a future state, in which all will be more happy, under whatever circumstances they may be placed than if they experienced no misery in this life
• Publisher: for the Author, by A. Oakey, Adams, Mass
• Publication Date: 1829
• Binding: viii, [9]-448 pp. 8vo
• Edition: First edition.
• Seller catalogs:
  • Social Thought
  • Philosophy & Religion