 TREASURES III- A Tenth Anniversary Celebration of the
Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education
October 2, 2004 - June 30, 2005
19th Century School Geographies
In the nineteenth century, American schools, in contrast to current
education practices, paid great attention to teaching geography. The USA was
a new country and one commencing a period of great expansion. There was an
impelling desire to present to American, and also to the world, a
description of its topographical attributes. Thus, national identity and
pride, history and geography, and the creation of informed and patriotic
citizens were interwoven in education. The creation of geography texts
started early in the century, with the Reverend Jedidiah Morse, often called
the “Father of American Geography,” taking primacy. Authors compiled
gazetteers (geographical dictionaries), statistical compilations, travel
books, and atlases, all which were distinguished by the generous use of maps
and other visual material. Wall maps and globes, now comparatively rare
teaching tools, were common items in classrooms. As the century progressed
and with it, the growth of universal education and literacy, there was an
increasing flood of material: heavy on factual description and, frequently
emphasizing cultural and racial identities, agriculture and industry, and
the physical attributes of the USA and the world. Overall, this output
provides a unique resource for understanding the attitudes, ambitions, and
priorities of America at a time of rapid change.
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I.
How Geography was Taught |
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1. Illustration
from: Eliza H. Morton
Potter’s Advanced Geography: Mathematical,
Physical and Political
Philadelphia: John E. Potter & Company, 1891
Osher Collection |
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2. Illustration
from: Alexis Everett Frye
Primary Geography, New England edition
Boston: Ginn and Company Publishers, 1899
OML Collection |
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3. Illustration
from: Roswell C. Smith
Smith’s First Book in Geography: An Introductory
Geography, Designed for Children, 7th edition
New York: Cady & Burgess, 1848
Gift of Bevinn O’Brien |
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4. Arnold Guyot
Guyot’s Geographical Series: Elementary Geography
for Primary Classes
New York: Ivison, Blakeman and Company, 1879
Osher Collection |
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5. Samuel Augustus
Mitchell
Mitchell’s Primary Geography: An Easy Introduction
to the Study of Geography, 3rd edition
Philadelphia: Cowperthwait, Desilver, & Butler, 1854
Smith Collection |
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6. Samuel Worcester
A First Book of Geography, 2nd edition
Boston: Crocker and Brewster, 1831
Osher Collection |
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Next: Illustration Methods |
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