This is a circa 1896 copy of “Barnes's Elementary Geography” featuring, according to its author James Monteith, “an easy, conversational and varied style of presentation” geared toward making “this study pleasant and effective.”  Indeed, this 96 page volume, with dramatic black and white etching illustrations throughout as well as a number of full page maps, makes for a fascinating read and portrait of turn-of-the-century American thinking about the rest of the world—very often predictably and overtly racist and imperialistic, though occasionally surprisingly poetic. I can almost picture its young owner,  “Tommy Ruthven, 704 Columbus Avenue, New York City,” written in pencil on the first inside page, carefully studying its pictures of wild animals in Africa and imagining himself sailing down the Nile. Quite a thing!

96 pages. 9 5/8" x 7 7/8" x 3/8". Good vintage condition, with wear to the exterior cloth-bound cover and some spot staining to the inside pages throughout.