The Natural History of Man; Comprising Inquiries Into the Modifying Influence of Physical and Moral Agencies on the Different Tribes of the Human Family de Prichard, James Cowles

H. Bailliere. Collectible - Very Good. London: Bailliere, 1845. 2nd Revised & enlarged Edition. [First published 1843.] xvii+[1]+596pp. + 49 steel engravings (44 colored) on 44 inserted leaves (several of the Indian plates by Catlin). 97 wood engravings in the text. Thick octavo. Contemporary gilt-stamped calf with raised spine bands and green cloth-covered boards. Very good book. Some wear to the joints and spine, corners frayed, recased very nicely in the late 20th century with new endpapers. Slight foxing to the plates. Uncommon. Prichard's popularization of his important Researches into the Physical History of Man (first published 1813; from the 1826 second edition on "Mankind" instead of "Man"), in which he argued for and assembled a massive amount of anthropological evidence for the unitary origin of the human race, an issue that was a lifelong interest of Prichard's (his 1808 University of Edinburgh dissertation was on the topic). Weight: 3 pounds = 1.4 kg. Size: 9.1 x 6.4 x 2.4 inches = 22.8 x 16 x 6cm. One of the first to conceive the possibility of a comparative psychology, Prichard compiled evidence in four different fields to demonstrate mankind's unity: the physiological and and psychological character of races; the demonstration of stable breeding populations formed by racial hybridization; comparative racial anatomy; ethnographic investigation. [DSB XI: 137]. Inquire if you need further information.