The Plowshare, and The American Reporter, Together with The Cosmopolitan, 1852 and 1853.

Washington D. C.. Very Good. 1853. Hardcover. A collection of three periodicals using the phonetic alphabet edited and compiled by Henry Parkhurst. This book contains: The Ploughshare, Volumes 4-5, Numbers 11-33, Jan. 1852 to Nov. 1853; The Cosmopolitan, Volume 1, Numbers 1-2, 1853; The American Reporter, Volumes 5-6, Numbers 16-31, Jan. 1852 to April 1853. Each periodical is paginated separately: 172pp, 8pp, 68pp. Faded purple boards with blind embossed border and phonetic symbol on spine. Boards have moderate sunning and wear; text block has light foxing and soiling; a poorly executed wood block is located on 4pp. These periodicals use the phonetic alphabet, a standardized representation of sounds of the spoken languages devised in the mid 19th century, and was sometimes used as a teaching mechanism to learn how to read. The Cosmopolitan periodical is written entirely in a strange set of symbols, titled "the Cozmofonetic Alfabet" (a portion of this periodical happens to be the Declaration of Independence). An interesting collection of periodicals showing the varying ways to use the phonetic language. ; 16mo 6" - 7" tall .