Practical Philosophy of Social Life, Or, the Art of Conversing with Men

Lansingburgh NY: Penniman & Bliss. Very Good. 1805. First American Edition. Leather. Large 8vo 9" - 10" tall; 368 pages; 1805 Penniman & Bliss, Lansingburgh NY. 1st American edition, after the London edition of 1799. Xxxvii; 368 pp. Full period speckled calf appears to have been artfully rebacked with original leather spine. Replaced red leather title label. Soundly bound and clean with a period prior ownership of a David Smith penned to front pastedown and a later 1860 penciled gift inscription to the front flyleaf. Occasional mild spotting or offset toning from vegetal material that had been laid in. E8 (pp 47/48) has had a piece of the page that was torn away mended with a quite old sewn/threaded repair; no loss of text or margin. Adolf Franz Knigge (1752-1796) studied Law, admitted to Court and served as a Civil Administrator in Frankfurt-on-Main. This is his chief literary work in which he lays down rules to be observed for attaining a peaceful, happy and useful life. Under the name "Philo" he was a very active member of the "Illuminati" Society founded by Adam Weishaupt, which later evolved in part to the Free Masons. Solid and well preserved copy and uncommon thus. VG .