The thirteenth edition corrected and much improved, printed in 1823, copyrighted in 1821. No information on the author is given. The preface says the work has been abridged and arranged the definitions and rules (to be committed to memory) so as not to overburden the pupil. Repetition and parsing exercises are used to aid the teaching. Exercises in correcting false syntax are also used. The work is sectioned orthography, etymology, syntax, and prosody. Corrections for the false syntax exercises are included in the appendix. The Schultz Archive copy is roughly the complete text.
1852 printing of the 1852 copyrighted text. Reverend W. Colegrove is credited as principal of Burton Academy and member of the board of school examiners for Geauga County. A grammar handbook following six principles: 1) Brevity, conciseness, and accuracy; 2) Simplicity in classification; 3) Perspicuity in the arrangement and adaptedness to the purposes of class recitations; 4) Freedom from superfluities; 5) Comprehensiveness in the plan; 6) Originality in design and execution of the work. The introduction says that composition should be kept separate from the teaching of grammar. Analysis, or syntactical parsing, is viewed as helpful for mental discipline and has a prominent place in the work. Authors credited for influence are Webster, Mandeville, Green, Wells, Chapin, and Whateley. The work follows the orthography, etymology, syntax, and prosody divisions for its organization. The appendices includes short excerpts by respected authors for parsing exercises. The Schultz Archive copy is roughly the complete text.
No printing or copyright year are on this copy (the dedication is dated 1820), but a handwritten note dates it to 1901 (it was long out of print, according to the preface). No information on Cobbett is given, but in the incomplete editor's preface states that Cobbett was the first to demonstrate how to write for young people and in a manner that plain people can understand (in a conversational style). The editor goes on to say that grammar should not be taught out of books, but rather by the teacher himself. This book is meant for those who are learning without a teacher, or it is for children of at least twelve. The editor says Cobbett is addressing boys fourteen and fifteen years old. The text is a written as a series of letters (epistles) and covers orthography, etymology, syntax, and prosody. Including are examples of false grammar, errors, and nonsense. The six additional lessons for statesmen are dated 1822. The Schultz Archive copy is missing some pages at the beginning which cut into the preface, but otherwise the entire text is complete.
1899 printing of 1899 copyrighted text. The author is credited as the author of Beginners' Readers I, II, III and Vivid Scenes in American History. The text is a teacher's manual to accompany Letters From Queer Folk, a composition book aimed at enhancing student learning by drafting correspondence with imagined people. The text covers various genres of writing such as business, social, telegrams, advertisements, receipts. It addresses particular skills such as paragraphing, vocabulary, punctuation, and arrangement. The Schultz Archive copy is the entire text.
1868 printing (40th edition, revised) of the 1864 copyrighted text. The author is credited as the Principal of Cortland Academy and author of three other books on grammar and the English language. Rather than begin with the usual brief section on orthography, the text's first part touches on words, phrases and sentences. Part two is etymology, part three is syntax, and part four is prosody. The author uses circular charts to aid students with learning grammar. Sentences are diagrammed to separate their elements. Examples, exercises and review questions are implemented throughout. There are many exercises in analysis. The Schultz Archive's copy only includes the first 67 pages of the text, which runs through all of part one and ends on the first page of part two.
1916 printing of 1902 copyrighted text. The author is credited as Principal of the High School Department of the Ethical Culture Schools, New York. An examination of the practices and assignments common in elementary and high school. According to Chubb, the purpose of the text is to provide instructors with some notion of what is being taught most commonly for the various levels of students and what the most common practices are. He indicates that his book does not advocate a specific pedagogical practice; rather, he hopes only to establish a greater continuity in English instruction throughout the educative process because a varied process can only prove detrimental to education on the whole. The book touches on reading and composition (both oral and written) from kindergarten up to high school. It addresses what sorts of literature should be assigned as reading as well as how grammar should be taught and the four kinds of writing: narrative, descriptive, exposition, and argumentative. The Schultz Archive includes the complete text, and the scans are good condition.
No printing information given. Copyrighted 1857. No information on the author is provided. As the lengthy title suggests, Chesterfield's text is directed at any student who wants or needs to learn how to compose an effective letter. The author claims that the book may prove useful for students young and old, as well as for students who wish to learn to write polite letters for society or business letters for monetary purposes. No matter the student or cause, Chesterfield claims that all people may benefit from an increased knowledge of how to write letters. The text offers instruction on all aspects of letters, including grammar, style, arrangement, concluding, and more. Examples of different genres of letter are provided, such as business or love letters. The Schultz Archive includes the complete letter-writing section (with the exception of pages 50-51 and 58-59), but the text seems to continue beyond the letter-writing portion. Some highlighter obscures text throughout, but the quality is good nonetheless.
1847 printing. No copyright date provided. The author is credited as Editor of the United States Gazette. A grammar handbook for those who feel "the need of simple and familiar explanations and illustrations, and oft-repeated rules." Chandler claims that this textbook is intended to present grammar instruction in a more interesting manner than it is usually presented. He claims that his text accomplishes this goal through the use of familiar language, numerous examples and illustrations, and through exercises in parsing. Chandler does not intend for this textbook to replace the grammar instructor, but that the book should be used as an effective supplement to in-class instruction. The Schultz Archive only includes a brief excerpt of the cover page, preface and the first 11 pages of content. The scans are good quality, but there are a few markings that obscure the text.
1842 printing. No copyright date given. No information on the authors is provided. The authors' text begins with a brief discussion of the inefficacy of the previous method of instructing grammar and composition, which included a heavy emphasis on rule memorization and the reading--and subsequent copying of--classic texts. The authors, instead, advocate a more "natural" approach to the acquisition of grammar and composition: practice, object use and familiarity. The authors propose students should be given the chance to copy short pieces by good authors to learn neatness and exactness. They then work with writing about familiar objects, exchanging their work and correcting each other's errors, discussing their work as a class, then having their instructor provide feedback for correction. The authors suggest beginning with concrete objects that are near the students and progressing through to more complex abstract ideas and series of objects in order to assist in the acquisition of composition abilities. The Schultz Archive includes the complete text (although it is a fairly short text), and the quality of the scans is fairly good; however, there are a few places where markings on the text are somewhat distracting.
1897 printing (the sixth edition, revised and enlarged) of the 1891 copyrighted text. The author is credited as Professor of Rhetoric and English Composition in Columbia College (University?); formerly Associate Professor of English in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Carpenter claims that the exigency of his text is the fact that most students learn more easily from the comments the instructor makes because her/his examples are familiar to the student and s/he uses literature that is more relevant to the students than what is usually found in texts. Each section contains a fairly detailed exercise that includes explanations, examples and systematic exercises for the students. The exercises often emphasize correcting errors. The chapters cover words, sentences, paragraphs, whole compositions, qualities of style (clearness, force, elegance). Barrett Wendell is credited as a primary influence. Wendell, McElroy, A. S. Hill, David Salmon, and Genung are referenced. The Schultz Archive only includes brief excerpts, but they are good quality.