"IF YOU ARE A WIT, DO NOT LET YOUR WITTY REMARKS ENGROSS THE WHOLE CONVERSATION"
ANONYMOUS. True Politeness. A Hand-Book of Etiquette for Ladies. By an American Lady. New York: Leavitt and Allen, (1847). 12mo, original gilt-stamped pictorial purple cloth, all edges gilt.
First edition of this concise etiquette manual intended for an American audience, in original pictorial cloth-gilt.
Written during the Victorian era when Americans tried to mirror British behavior and values, "True Politeness was based on the 1840 London edition of True Politeness; or, Etiquette. The American version [often considered a first edition in its own right] was very popular and was reprinted yearly from 1847 to 1853. This manual, which reproduced the rules of etiquette to numbered sections of one or two sentences, was available for 25 cents" (Aldrich, 202). The price point made it accessible and thus highly influential for an entire generation of American women. Donor bookplate of Mercer County Historical Society. Faint pencil owner signatures and notations on endpapers.
Light scattered soiling to interior, a bit of wear and toning to original cloth. An exceptionally good copy.