SWINTON'S FIFTH READER and SPEAKER

New York: Ivison, Blakeman, Taylor & Co., Publishers, 1883. Hardcover. Good Plus to Very Good/Issued Without Jacket. As the subtitle --"The Reader: The Focus Of Language Training" -- indicates, this is one in a series of 19th century school texts designed to teach the elements of English to grade school students. It is filled with selections of prose and poetry by writers such as Hawthorne, Longfellow, Ruskin, Arnold, Emerson, Dickens and Poe used to illustrate the lessons of oral as well as written language. About 5 1/4 x 7 1/4 inches, 479 pages including appendix. Bound in red cloth-covered boards with black backstrip and gold lettering on spine. Front cover shows title centered on cover and bordered top and bottom by "celtic" graphic design rows. Lettering and graphics in black, all clearly legible. Boards show moderate wear at edges, corners and spine ends with bumped corners and scuffing. Binding is firm though front hinge beginning to crack. Text, with several b & w illustrations, is clean, complete and basically unmarked though fep shows small bookstore stamp and faded signature of previous owner. Two items in the table of contents are checkmarked. Overall, a decent, well-maintained copy.