Genius and Degeneration : A Psychological Study

New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1896. First American Edition . Beige Cloth, Gilt. Near Fine Book. 330 Pp + 2 Pp Catalog At End. A Near Fine Book, Just A Touch Of Wear And A Little Flecking And Browning To Cloth On Spine, All Gilt Brilliant, Hinges Tight. Woodcut Bookplate Of Margaret Brewer Fowler Printed Entirely In Brown With A Rose And Her Name In Arts/Crafts Script, On Front Paste-Down, With "Fowler" Signature Above And A Larger Signature On The Facing Front Free Endpaper, No Other Marks. Per Wikipedia, Fowler Was Born In 1863, In San Francisco, One Of Three Daughters Of Prominent Lawyer John Brewer. Margaret And Three Of Her Closest Girlhood Friends, Anna Head (Founder Of Head-Royce School), Mary Mclean, And Mattie Belcher, Seniors At Oakland High School, Became Well-Known Educators. Fowler Was The Godmother Of Beverly Hard, Wife Of Dr. Frederick Hard, An Early President Of Scripps College (1944-64), Whose Daughters She Later Put Thru Scripps. She Provided College Scholarships For Many Other Young People, Including Students In China And Japan. She And Her Friends Had Taught Classes For Children In The Front Parlor Of Anna Head'S Home In Oakland, And Was Engaged To A Young Doctor Who Was Murdered In Hawaii By One Of His Patients Who Was Afraid Of Being Reported For Being Afflicted With Leprosy. The Crushing Blow So Numbed Margaret With Grief That Even Her Mother And Close Friends Could Not Comfort Her. Slowly, Her Pain Turned Outward Into A Yearning To Help Young People. She Accepted A Teaching Position At Punahou, A Missionary School In Hawaii Where She Served On The Faculty For Over A Decade. Afterward, She Studied At New York University, Receiving Her Master Of Arts In 1899. In 1903, After Taking Up Residence In Detroit And Later In Pasadena, She Married Eldridge M. Fowler, A Businessman, With Interests In Mines, Railroads, And Lumber From The Midwest To The Pacific Northwest. The Largest Stockholder In The Electric Railway Between Detroit And Toledo, He Was Vice President Of The Mccormick Harvester Company, Later Director Of The International Harvester Company, Founded By The Father Of His Brother'S Wife, Cyrus Mccormick, Who Had Invented The Binder And Reaper. Margaret And Eldridge Had Been Married For Less Than A Year When He Died, Shortly After They Took Up Residence In Pasadena. For The Remainder Of Her Life, Margaret Concentrated On Raising Her Late Husband'S Daughter And On Furthering The Philanthropic Interests They Had Begun As A Couple, As Well As Those That Compelled Her In Later Life. She Was An Associate Of The California Institute Of Technology, A Long-Time Contributor To Pasadena'S All Saints Church And A Benefactor Of The Pasadena Hospital, Where She And Her Step-Daughter Donated The Administration Building. In The Early 1900', Mrs. Fowler Became Interested In Productive Ways To Reform Juvenile Delinquents When She Was Asked To Join A Committee By Los Angeles County Judge Curtis Wilber.This Committee Of Concerned Citizens Set Out To Find Alternatives To Sending Boys To Jail With Adult Criminals. Fowler Felt The Key Was To Help Boys Academically, Increasing Their Sense Of Self-Worth Through Opportunities To Achieve Success. Committee Members Traveled East To Research Juvenile Homes, Where They Were Impressed By The Pioneering Work Of William George At His George Junior Republic In Freeville, New York. As A Result, Boys Republic Was Founded In 1907, With A Grant Of $10,000 From Mrs. Fowler, Who Also Purchased For The Fledgling Non-Profit Corporation A 211-Acre Farm In Chino Hills And Provided Funds For The First Buildings On Its Main Campus. On The Campus, She Built Her Own Gracious Residence, Casa Colina, In Order To Be Near The School And The Boys. Here, Mrs. Fowler Hosted Countless Gatherings At Her Home, Benefiting Boys Republic And Numerous Other Organizations.