1894 Primary Geography by Alex Everett order Frye

Primary Geography by order Alex Everett Frye, 1894, published by Ginn & Company, Boston. New England Edition. Hardback, 8.25x10.5 inch cloth covered boards. Fabric is worn through in spots, soiled, faded, corners bumped, edges worn, front end paper (blank) is torn out. 136 pages, all pages present. Binding strong, spine intact. Interior pages are beige with age, spotted, stained,some stray pencil/pen marks and notations. No major rips or tears. Very used, fair condition.
B&W illustrations throughout, color maps. Intended for primary grades, it is explained in the preface, “the text is tailored to use language suited to pupils of primary grades. Open the book at any page, and see whether the author has hit the mark... The word race has a deeper meaning than is taught by the size of the cheekbones or the texture of hair. This book leads pupils into the homes of the races. Read to a child one of the stories on pages 55 to 72, and note the result.”
It further is declared:
“The cruel and senseless study of countless details concerning the separate states is here replaced by a general view of the resources and industries of the whole nation. This work ahas been laid before thousands of teachers, and the author has yet to meet the first teacher who does not welcome the change.”
More, it is boasted: “The pictures are works of art. It is thought that they are superior to any ever before placed in a schoolbook.”
The maps are interesting in that they show the borders and countries of the world in 1894. The illustrations depict life before cars or planes. The content is not as blatant as many schoolbooks of its day, yet it does refer to Chinese as “the little yellow people” (page 58), and (on page 58) says, “Most of the Japanese children are always clean ... they often have 2-3 baths a day,” and (on page 60) “In some places the Malays have built cities, but the white man rules over most of the brown race.”
For collectors of history, old books, education materials, or anyone interested in American schools and curriculum.