References
“THE YOUNG LADY’s BOOK is just published, price one Guinea, with upwards of Seven Hundred Embellishments. This Work is not an Annual, and essentially differs from the whole class of Literary Gifts usually presented to Young Ladies, being a complete manual of those elegant pursuits which ‘grace the person, or adorn the mind.’ The various subjects have been confided to proficients in their several departments, and the engravings have been executed in the best style of the art. The volume is richly bound in silk, and altogether decorated in a style of novelty hitherto unattempted.
Few works have been received with such unanimous and unqualified approbation by the public press. The following is an abridged selection from a few of the many favourable notices with which it has been honoured: –
‘We shall find it difficult to speak of this volume in terms sufficiently expressive of the admiration, and, indeed, wonder, with which an examination of it has filled us. It is not only a curiosity, but a beautiful curiosity, and no less excellent in its useful qualities, than it is elegant in its decorative parts. A few years ago all the talents in England could not have produced such a work.’ – Literary Gassette, Oct. 31, 1829.
‘The Young Lady’s Book, from the splendour of its appearance, the excellent style and execution of its embellishments, its intrinsic value, and its peculiar suitableness, is the most acceptable offering that can be made at the shrine of youth and beauty; and, altogether, is one of the most elegant volumes of its kind.’ – La Belle Assemblee for December, 1829.
‘The Young Lady’s Book surpasses all the annuals in its external splendour, and is far superior to them in the character of its object. At the same time that it is itself a medium of general instruction in science, it is an actual wonder of art.’ – Spectator, Nov. 8, 1829.
‘This is not an annual, but an evergreen; a gem in its way; containing a clear and neatly written epitome of all those amusements that are appropriate to young ladies, and mixing its instructions with such a pleasant versatility of attractive matter, that we have no hesitation in recommending it to the boudoir and the drawing room.’ – Atlas, Nov. 8, 1829.
‘In a word, whether we look on the Young Lady’s Book as it respects art, science, or recreation, it stands unique from every other publication, and, as such, must be received throughout the literary world.’ – News, Nov. 8, 1829.
‘The Young Lady’s Book will enjoy a more permanent popularity than any of its competitors during the present gift-giving season.’ – Court Journal, Nov. 21, 1829.
‘The Young Lady’s Book is a present far more useful and instructive than any thing we have seen since the new fashion of yearly publications has obtained. This book contains a sort of encyclopedia of female arts and accomplishments; indeed, a collection of everything with which the most delicate and refined of our young ladies should be acquainted.’ – John Bull, Nov. 29, 1829.
‘Whether we view it in the light of a moralist, an instructor, or as a gay and smiling companion, entering into all the elegant accomplishments which add a grace to virtue, we still find it unexceptionable, both in matter and manner, and altogether one of the most acceptable presents that could be offered to a young lady.’ – Morning Post, Nov. 17, 1829.”
– The Times, London, England, 5 Dec 1829
