Publisher and Year: New York: Standard Publishing House, 1883
Edition: First edition, first printing, with the title page dated 1883 (increased in later printings). In the publisher's full black morocco binding, the most expensive option that customers could order according to the sales prospectus.
Condition and Description: Octavo, full black morocco leather, embossed and stamped in gilt, all edges gilt, dentelles to the turn-ins, silk endpapers, frontispiece with tissue guard, 785 pp. Contains over 270 engravings, including full-page and double-page illustrations depicting diverse religious rites, idols, temples, and "superstitious" customs from around the world. The leather has been conditioned and re-dyed where scuffed (visible in close-ups at rear of the gallery). Wear to the edges. Gilt bright. Hinges and binding tight. Mild vertical crease beginning at the front free endpaper and proceeding until page xix of the preliminaries. Crease to the upper-right corner of pp. 465-470, not affecting the text. The second blank leaf bears a series of inscriptions documenting ownership from the book’s original purchase in 1883 through 1974, tracing its passage through multiple generations of a single family. No other writing or underlining. Stain to the upper portion of the rear pastedown. A handsome volume.
"A complete, graphic, and comparative history of the many strange beliefs, superstitious practices, domestic peculiarities, sacred writings, systems of philosophy, legends and traditions, customs and habits of mankind throughout the world, ancient and modern."
Errors’ Chains is a late-19th-century American compendium of comparative religion and popular anthropology, conceived not as neutral scholarship but as a visual and moral argument. Drawing on missionary accounts, travel literature, and classical sources, it sought to catalogue and interpret non-Christian belief systems for a Western audience that would never encounter them directly. Its hundreds of engravings were central to that mission, presenting ritual objects, temples, idols, and ceremonies as apparent evidence of “error” in contrast to Christianity. While it is a masterpiece of bookmaking and illustration, the narrative is deeply rooted in the "civilized vs. savage" dichotomy, often framing non-Christian faiths as "errors" or "superstitions."
Inventory ID: 777 - 017 - 637
Publisher and Year: New York: Standard Publishing House, 1883
Edition: First edition, first printing, with the title page dated 1883 (increased in later printings). In the publisher's full black morocco binding, the most expensive option that customers could order according to the sales prospectus.
Condition and Description: Octavo, full black morocco leather, embossed and stamped in gilt, all edges gilt, dentelles to the turn-ins, silk endpapers, frontispiece with tissue guard, 785 pp. Contains over 270 engravings, including full-page and double-page illustrations depicting diverse religious rites, idols, temples, and "superstitious" customs from around the world. The leather has been conditioned and re-dyed where scuffed (visible in close-ups at rear of the gallery). Wear to the edges. Gilt bright. Hinges and binding tight. Mild vertical crease beginning at the front free endpaper and proceeding until page xix of the preliminaries. Crease to the upper-right corner of pp. 465-470, not affecting the text. The second blank leaf bears a series of inscriptions documenting ownership from the book’s original purchase in 1883 through 1974, tracing its passage through multiple generations of a single family. No other writing or underlining. Stain to the upper portion of the rear pastedown. A handsome volume.
"A complete, graphic, and comparative history of the many strange beliefs, superstitious practices, domestic peculiarities, sacred writings, systems of philosophy, legends and traditions, customs and habits of mankind throughout the world, ancient and modern."
Errors’ Chains is a late-19th-century American compendium of comparative religion and popular anthropology, conceived not as neutral scholarship but as a visual and moral argument. Drawing on missionary accounts, travel literature, and classical sources, it sought to catalogue and interpret non-Christian belief systems for a Western audience that would never encounter them directly. Its hundreds of engravings were central to that mission, presenting ritual objects, temples, idols, and ceremonies as apparent evidence of “error” in contrast to Christianity. While it is a masterpiece of bookmaking and illustration, the narrative is deeply rooted in the "civilized vs. savage" dichotomy, often framing non-Christian faiths as "errors" or "superstitions."
Inventory ID: 777 - 017 - 637
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