Monteith's Manual of Geography - 1876
9/28/23 - I love the old geography textbooks because they are so raw, striving for accuracy and objectivity, but also heavily biased. I also find them beautifully designed. Tom PaperJames Monteith (1831-1890) was an American author known for his widely published geography textbooks in the 19th century1. He was born in Strabane, Ireland, and immigrated to the United States as a child, where he lived his entire life in New York City1. Monteith began his career as a teacher in New York's public school system and eventually became the headmaster of Ward School 17 (later P.S. 18) at 211 West 47th St1.In the 1850s, Monteith started publishing textbooks on geography and history, initially collaborating with Francis McNally, a fellow New York public school teacher and mentor to Monteith until his death in 185513. His influences included Alexander K. Johnston, Arnold Guyot, Matthew Fontaine Maury, and Emma Hart Willard1. A.S. Barnes and Co. published many different versions of Monteith's geography textbooks from the early 1850s to the 1880s, which grew larger, more detailed, and more sophisticated over time1.Monteith's geography textbooks were widely published in the United States from the late 1850s until well after his death, offering some of the most popular educational resources of the time2. His works were part of the National Series of Standard School Books and featured black and white illustrations and color maps4. Some of his well-known textbooks include "First Lessons in Geography: On The Plan of Object Teaching" and the "National Geographical Series"46. Source: Perplexity.ai
