The State Of The Prisons In England [With] Historical Remarks. Howard, John; Brossays Du Perray, Joseph Marie Antiquarian & Scholarly

Warrington: William Eyres, 1780; London: 1780. Studies of Prisons by a Pioneering Reformer Howard, John [1726-1790]. The State of the Prisons in England and Wales, With Preliminary Observations, And an Account of Some Foreign Prisons and Hospitals. Warrington: Printed by William Eyres; And Sold by T. Cadell in the Strand, And N. Conant in Fleet-Street, 1780. [vi], 449, [19] pp. Lacking half-title. With 11 folding engraved copperplate illustrations and diagrams. [Bound with] [Brossays du Perray, Joseph Marie]. [Howard, John, Editor]. Historical Remarks and Anecdotes on the Castle of the Bastille. Translated from the French Published in 1774. London: Printed for T. Cadell, And N. Conant, 1780. [vi], 29, [1] pp. With a folding engraved copperplate frontispiece diagram of the Bastille. Octavo (9" x 5-1/4"). Later quarter calf over pebbled cloth boards, raised bands and gilt title to spine, endleaves renewed. Moderate rubbing, front joint just starting, slight chipping to head of spine, a few shallow scuffs to spine, light wear to board edges, corners bumped and worn, hinges cracked, library bookplate to front pastedown, (illegible) owner signature to front free endpaper. Moderate toning to interior, light foxing and soiling to a few leaves, faint offsetting to and from folding plates, several of which have creasing or small clean tears along fold lines (one plate mended with cellotape) without loss to images. $350. * Prisons: second edition; Historical Remarks: first English edition. After being shocked by the conditions of his county prison as high sheriff, Howard dedicated himself to touring hundreds of prisons in Great Britain and Western Europe. He reported his findings in State of the Prisons, which was, to quote Printing and the Mind of Man, "the first major practical work on the subject." A vivid synthesis of factual data and moral outrage, it called for drastic improvements in the housing, cleanliness and care of prisoners. Within a year of its publication it inspired a bill that established two prisons with plans based on Howard's recommendations. The first edition appeared in 1777 and the final edition in 1792. Historical Remarks, published anonymously but attributed to French author Brossays du Perray, is "a very interesting and instructive comparison between the horrors of despotic power, and the mild and just administrati.