A New System of Practical Domestic Economy; Founded on Modern Discoveries, and the Private Communications of Persons of Experience.

[ Women's Studies. Home Economics.]

Published by London: Printed for Henry Colburn and Co., 1823.

About this Item

A household management manual that gives advice on the inner workings of the English middle- and upper middle-class homeÑeverything from preparing tea to preventing mold growth. The manual is organized in chapters according to parts of the household: Residences, Principal Apartments, Auxiliary Apartments, Domestic Offices, External Conveniences (i.e., gardens), and ServantsÕ Hall, plus chapters of general advice and the lengthy section on budgeting in annual income brackets from £55 to £5,000. The budgeting section lists full estimates of expenses for each of these income brackets: the lower income brackets list just simple purchases like food, clothing, and candles, while the highest includes the salaries of twenty-two servants. Twelvemo. xii, 402, 76 [addenda], [22, index] pp. Contemporary marbled boards rebacked in modern calf with red spine label. Some rubbing to boards. Very fresh throughout. A very good, unusually clean copy. Third edition, Òrevised and greatly enlarged. To which are now first added, estimates of household expenses, founded on economical principles, and adapted to families of every description.Ó OCLC records no copies of any earlier editions and only eight copies of this edition in North America. Jisc (COPAC) also does not record copies of any earlier editions. The introduction indicates a patriotic motive to the maintenance of the English household. The author implies that members of the British middle class were moving to France for cheaper housing and education, but cautions against this decision, arguing that French values would corrupt the minds of the English youth and erode their patriotism. The morals of young Englishwomen, in particular, needed to be protected: the author writes, ÒIt is chiefly for them that we have undertaken our task, to unite elegance with economy, not only in the highest, but in the middle walks of life; and to shew that good old English housewifery is still a good old English virtueÓ (p. vii). We could not locate any information on the author of the present work. Seller Inventory # 17666

Bibliographic Details

Title: A New System of Practical Domestic Economy; ...

Publisher: London: Printed for Henry Colburn and Co., 1823.

Binding: Hardcover