Description:

Black Jack, and Other Temperance tales for boys and girls (c. 1884) is a rare text. The book was written by F.E. Reade and published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge in London. The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge was an Anglican charity founded in 1698, ‘to provide religious literature for those without nearby libraries and to promote the establishment of charity schools’ (Marshall). Its founder, Thomas Gray, also aimed to promote ‘“Religion and Learning in any part of His Majesty's Plantations abroad”’ (qtd in Marshall). The group was responsible for a vast amount of Christian publications for children in Britain during the 18th and 19th centuries. The promotion of awareness of various social issues was central in the Society’s publications: in the case of this book, emphasis was placed on the advantages of temperance. In a range of short stories, the negative influence of the consumption of alcohol, by both adults and children, on children’s lives is specifically highlighted. No information about the author of this book could be located, but F.E. Reade was the author of a significant number of moral and religious works for children many of which were published by the Society for the Promoting Christian Knowledge. In these stories, the child characters are often presented as diverting their lively and adventurous personalities into other worthwhile endeavours, such as participation in the British Empire in the case of the story ‘Black Jack’, and into a career as a fireman in the story ‘Two Sorts of Fun’. However, the volume presents a variety of ways that children can become heroic, associated in large part with their resistance of alcohol. In ‘One Too Many’, Phil, a sickly boy who feels like a burden on his family, eventually takes his place at the head of the family, providing for them when his older brother is no longer able to work. The book label on this copy is also of significance. It notes the book was awarded as a prize by the Association Incorporated for Discountenancing Vice and Promoting the Knowledge and Practice of the Christian Religion’, a Society established in Ireland in the early 19th century, which provided free elementary education, if the accompanying religious instruction was also accepted (McManus).
[Ciara Gallagher].
Marshall, Revd. Dr. William M. “The Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge”. Ed. John Cannon. The Oxford Companion to British History. Oxford University Press; online edition, 2009. Web. 18 Feb. 2015
[http://www.oxfordreference.com.elib.tcd.ie/view/10.1093/acref/9780199567638.001.0001/acref-9780199567638-e-3954?].
McManus, Antonia. The Irish Hedge School and Its Books, 1695-1831. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2004.

Author:

F.E. Reade

Place of Publication:

London, Brighton, New York

Publisher:

Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge

Date of Publication:

[1884?]

Price:

n.p.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

[4], 160 p., plates ; 18 cm.

Copy Specific Notes:

Bookplate: Awarded by Association Incorporated for Discountenancing Vice and Promoting the Knowledge and Practice of the Christian Religion. For Diligence and Attendance. [date not fully legible]

Category:

Literature and Education

Subject Keywords:

Temperance, Moral, Religion, Alcohol, British Empire

Library holding:

Pollard Collection - TCD