This series of schoolbooks teaching reading and moral
precepts, originally prepared by William Holmes who was a
professor at Miami University McGuffey, had a profound influence
on public education in the United States. The eclectic readers,
meaning that the selections were chosen from a number of sources,
were considered remarkably literary works and probably exerted a
greater influence upon literary tastes in the United States more
than any other book, excluding the Bible.
It is estimated that at least 120 million copies of McGuffey's
Readers were sold between 1836 and 1960, placing its sales in a
category with the Bible and Webster's Dictionary. Since 1961 they
have continued to sell at a rate of some 30,000 copies a year. No
other textbook bearing a single person's name has come close to
that mark. McGuffey's Readers are still in use today in some
school systems, and by parents for home schooling purposes.
This first reader of 1841 introduces children to McGuffey's
ethical code. The child modeled in this book is prompt, good,
kind, honest and truthful. This first book contained fifty-five
lessons.
