The Masque of Ancient Learning and its Many Meanings - A Pageant of Education from Primitive to Celtic Times

1912. First edition. xxviii, 91pp. Patrick Geddes (1854-1932) was a Scottish biologist, sociologist, Comtean positivist, geographer, philanthropist and pioneering town planner. He developed a means for engaging with the populace of a city through a civic pageant, and the Masque of Learning, in its original form, was a pageant prepared to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the foundation of University Hall, Edinburgh. It consisted of an historic pageant of characteristic scenes illustrative of the development of Higher Education, and of the origins and history of the University - each in its widest sense. The original Masque was revised, extended by the addition of new scenes, and developed into two parts: the Masque of Ancient Learning and the Masque of Modern Learning. Each is complete in itself, and this volume is the first of the two. The book is bound in the original green card covers with black titling and an illustration on the front cover and an illustration on the rear cover. The book is in very good condition with shelf wear and some soiling on the covers, small pieces missing from the tips of the rear corners and bottom front corner and creasing with a larger pieces missing from the tip of the top front corner. Small pieces are missing from the spine ends. The fore edge of the rear cover has small tears on the fore edge that have been repaired on the inside with document repair tape. The contents are secure and clean with slight curling to the corners of the pages. There are light tape stains running along the top and bottom edges of the half-title page and last page of the book but no inscription. …