Retrospection - A Tale By Mrs. Taylor, of Ongar. Author of "Maternal solicitude," &c. &c.

Philadelphia: Published by Collins and Croft. William Brown, printer. Very Good-. 1822. First American Edition. Hardcover. [4], 173, [2, blank] pages; Publisher's original grey paper-covered boards, somewhat later white fabric spine, edges uncut. A complete copy, with half title and a conjugate blank leaf following the final page - (forming an unopened pair across the top edges). There are faint splash stains on the boards, particularly the rear, and there is some light toning and scattered diffuse foxing throughout; mid-nineteenth century bookplate: "ALUMNI LIBRARY / THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, / Princeton, N.J." mounted to the front paste-down. Below this is mounted another printed label, marked with "Case, Shelf, and Book" numbers. Both these bookplates are crossed-stamped "DISCARD." There are no other stamps, perforations, card pockets, etc. This is one of two American editions published in 1822 of "Retrospection" by Mrs. Taylor; the first edition was published in London in 1821 - [London : Printed for Taylor and Hessey, Fleet Street, 1821]. OCLC Number: 3831243 Shoemaker 10413; Stewart, C.D. 'Taylors of Ongar,' A34g. The author is cited on the title page as "Mrs. Taylor of Ongar." This refers to her status as the wife of Isaac Taylor of Ongar, an engraver and later a dissenting minister. Together, Ann and Isaac Taylor were the progenators of an extensive literary family, of which the best known member today is probably their daughter Jane, who wrote the words for the song "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." Jane, her older sister Ann, their mother Ann, and the Taylor family lived at Shilling Grange in Shilling Street Lavenham Suffolk in a house which still stands. Later (1796 -1810) the Taylors lived in Colchester, Essex, and then Ongar. Jane and Ann were mostly responsible for "Original Poems for Infant Minds by several young persons" (i.e. Ann and Jane Taylor and others); first issued in two volumes in 1804 and 1805. Rhymes for the Nursery followed in 1806, and Hymns for Infant Minds in 1808. Jane Taylor died of breast cancer at the age of 40, her mind still "teeming with unfulfilled projects." Jane's death generated early posthumous eulogies, including one which is very nearly a hagiography by her brother Isaac, and much of Ann's work came to be ascribed to Jane. Ann ruefully remarked of this fact that thus losing credit to her sister, she could ill afford and "which Jane certainly did not require." Ann's poem "The Maniac's Song", [published in the Associate Minstrels (1810], may live for a very long time as an inspiration, albeit uncredited, for Keats's 'La Belle Dame sans Merci.' She will live on, also, for her posthumously published autobiography [The Autobiography and Other Memorials of Mrs Gilbert, Formerly Ann Taylor. Ed. Josiah Gilbert. London: Henry S. King & Co., 1874]. Ann and Jane's brothers, Isaac and Jefferys, also wrote; Isaac the younger was a theologian, but also the inventor of a patent beer tap. The elder brother Charles Taylor edited 'The Literary Panorama,' and younger brother Josiah was a publisher, chiefly of works on architecture and design. All the writing Taylors of Ongar were active in 1822 when "Retrospection" appeared in this American edition, and with the repetition of names, some confusion may result. It is worth stating clearly that this work is definately written by Ann, the mother -- Mrs. (Ann Martin) Taylor (1757–1830), who wrote seven works of moral and religious advice, which were in many respects liberal for their time. Two of her books, including this title, were presented as fiction. This copy, preserved uncut in its original boards, has a most interesting provenance: with the neatly written ink ownership inscription on the title page of "Mrs. Margaret Breckinridge" -- written by her in letters formed in imitation of printing. Margaret Breckinridge [1802-1838] was born in New York, but later lived in New Jersey while her father, Samuel Miller, was a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary. In 1823, she married the Rev. John Breckinridge, a Presbyterian clergyman and a graduate of the College of New Jersey (now known as Princeton University). While he served as an agent for the Presbyterian Church’s Board of Education to congregations across the United States, she aided him by teaching Sunday school. Considering how carefully she wrote her name right in the middle of this title page, she is likely to have used this copy as an aid to her Sunday school pupils. The Rev. Breckinridge eventually settled in Kentucky, where worsening illness of his wife forced her to return to Princeton where her life was cut short by death in 1838. One of the classic American works of its kind concerning the women of the church, "A Memorial of Mrs. Margaret Breckinridge" -- written and assembled by the Rev. Breckinridge and Archibald Alexander, was published on the first anniversary after her death. It is divided into two parts, the first containing a memoir and funeral sermon, and the second containing letters to her surviving children. (A digital version has been prepared by the Princeton Theological Seminary, and can be read online). Considering that Margaret Breckinridge's father, husband, and their friend Archibald Alexander, all had connections to the Princeton Theological Seminary, it seems appropriate that this copy should have a mid-nineteenth century bookplate: "ALUMNI LIBRARY / THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, / Princeton, N.J." mounted to the front paste-down. Below this is mounted another printed label, marked with "Case, Shelf, and Book" numbers. Both these bookplates are crossed-stamped "DISCARD." There are no other stamps, perforations, card pockets, etc. The 1821 first edition seems to be rare; (the only institutional location I can find is the British Library). Both this Philadelphia edition, and the other 1822 edition which appeared in Boston and New York, are now quite scarce. For this Philadelphia edition, see OCLC Number: 3831243 (7 locations). There is another copy in the collections of the American Antiquarian Society (which is noted also to retain the half title and the final blank, like this copy). .