History of Reading News. Vol.XX No.1 (1996:Fall)
by Peter J.L. Fisher and Sheila Shapiro

By Peter J. L. Fisher and Sheila Shapiro

Researchers have written in general about the evolution of texts for reading instruction in the nineteenth century (Venezky, 1987; Matthews, 1966), and about specific texts, particularly the McGuffey readers (Lindberg, 1976). Nila Banton Smith's classic (1965) includes analysis of many of the readers of this period. However, Smith's selection criteria allowed for many influential readers to be omitted from her analysis. In addition, researchers are only beginning to write about the authors of these texts (Fisher & Shapiro, 1995; Monaghan, 1994). This article concerns a less well-known, but influential series, and the author of the series.

Marcius Willson was the author of three reading series over a period of three decades, from the 1860s to the 1880s. Smith (1965) notes that his first series, the School and Family Readers, was an exception to the typical readers of that period. Reeder (1900) goes further in arguing that the series was so different that it contributed to the improvement of school readers, but in his opinion "in a negative way" (p. 55). He suggests that its focus on science as content encouraged the move to more literature in other readers. Although Willson's later readers are interesting for comparative purposes, the focus here will be on this first series which was atypical for the time in which it was written, and on the man who wrote it.

The Author

Marcius Willson was born in Massachusetts, but moved in his early years to Ontario County, New York. He graduated from Union College in 1836, and taught classics and mathematics at Highland Gymnasium, Fishkill Landing, and then at the Collegiate School, Poughkeepsie. He became the principal of Canandaigua Academy in 1849, and was later offered the presidency of Vassar Women's College at its founding. He was admitted to the bar in 1841, and practiced until an attack of bronchitis, brought on by public speaking, caused his retirement. He then turned his attention to authorship, writing a variety of educational materials in addition to the three reading series (See this issue, p. 5).

Unusually, Harper's contracted with him to write the School and Family series before he had written a word. He spent four years writing the series. Although there is little information available about the popularity of the series, it was published through the 1870s, and was still being sold when his second series was in use. Although Harper's was not the major educational publisher of the period, in the 1850s it was the biggest publisher in the United States, if not the world (Tebbel, 1975). This suggests that the readers were used in a considerable number of schools and districts.

Willson's Views on Education

As principal of Canandaigua Academy, Willson would have been familiar with most of the current trends in educa-tional theory, including Pestalozzi. Rosenthal (1994) notes that the District School Journal (published in New York) contained many examples of Pestalozzian object lessons between 1840 and 1850. Willson published a manual of instruction (1862), and a series of educational wall charts, in which object lessons were prevalent. He argues in the manual that "All science is built upon the object system" (p. 13). His first reading series reflects these views. His ideas also reflect discovery learning when he says

When we send children into the fields for recreation, we do not bandage their eyes nor close their ears lest they see too much of the myriad forms, shades and colors of nature and their ears be too much ravished by music.... Seeing and hearing much do, indeed, cause children to ask questions almost innumerable, because it gives them a craving for knowledge; and we wish we could say that parents and teachers have now more correct views of education than to check this inquisitiveness. Knowledge acquired under the stimulus of childish curiosity is very different from lessons poured into an unwilling ear (1862, p. 21).

The manual he wrote might be regarded as an early teachers' manual for a reading series, since in it he refers to both the charts and the readers, so that all three are interconnected.

The School and Family Readers

Published in 1860, these readers differed from previous reading series in focusing on science. Previous readers had included a wide range of subject matter, often the writings of the author and his friends and relatives. Occasional readers utilized one theme for a particular reader, for example, agriculture or history, but this was the first series to do so. The characteristic of Willson's series was that most of the passages concerned science (in its broadest sense), beginning with the near at hand and moving toward the remote.

In the primer the content is not really science, although objects and animals proliferate. A typical passage that occurs is

Is it an ax or an ox?
If it is an ox, it is my ox.
Ah, so it is.

The first reader is similar in its "unnatural language" for the first few lessons, although by Lesson XIV more common sentence structures are prevalent. The second reader also has content that has more to do with nature than other divisions of science. Additionally, in all the readers, interspersed here and there are lessons on conduct and morals.

The third reader begins with "Stories from the Bible." followed by "Moral Lessons" before moving into the divisions of animal life that make up the bulk of the book. The fourth reader has six parts: 1. Human Physiology and Health; 2. Ornithology; 3. Vegetable Physiology; 4. Mis-cellaneous; 5. Natural Philosophy; 6. Sketches from Sacred History. Like most readers of the time, there were literature selections, especially poetry, in each section, in addition to expository prose. The fifth and sixth readers have similar sections, including geology, astronomy, and chemistry.

Reeder (1900) argues that following the publication of these readers, there was a debate as to what should be the content of reading series, with science, literature, geography, history, patriotism, and morals all competing to become the major emphasis. He argues that literature gradually emerged over the next twenty years, so that by 1880 nearly all series had that as the main focus. Robinson (1930) in his analysis of the contents of readers of the period 1825-1875, notes the influence of Pestalozzi, and also the emphasis on science in the form of nature study, so in that sense Willson's readers are not isolated examples; but they are different in the major emphasis of the later readers being on science, and that "science" is the theoretical basis for the content of the readers.

Willson's other two reading series do not reflect this continuing belief in science as the basis for education. Since he wrote in many other content areas, his views were probably modified by time, and perhaps the demands of the market. However his School and Family Readers remain as an interesting contrast to other readers of the period, and an example of Pestalozzian principles perhaps overextended and misapplied.

References

Fisher, P.J.L., & Shapiro, S. (1995). James Baldwin 1841-1925: A man who loved stories. Reading Psychology, 16, 149-167.

Lindberg, S.W. (1976). The annotated McGuffey. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.

Matthews, M.M. (1966). Teaching to read, historically considered. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Monaghan, E.J. (1994). Gender and textbooks: Women writers of elementary readers, 1880-1950. Publishing Research Quarterly, 10, 28-46.

Reeder, R.R. (1900). The historical development of school readers and of method in teaching reading. New York: Macmillan.

Robinson, R.R. (1930). Two centuries of change in the content of school readers. Nashville, TN: George Peabody College for Teachers.

Rosenthal, I. (1994). Meaning centered reading instruction in New York State 1834-1850. Paper presented at the International Reading Association national con-vention, Toronto, Canada.

Smith, N.B. (1965). American reading instruction. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Tebbel, J. (1975). A history of book publishing in the United States, Volume II: The expansion of an industry. New York: R.R. Bowker.

Venezky, R.L. (1987). A history of the American textbook. The Elementary School Journal, 87, 247-265.

Willson, M. (1862). A manual of information and suggestions for object lessons, in a course of elementary instruction. New York: Harper's.

Peter L. J. Fisher teaches reading courses and directs the Graduate Reading and Language Program at National-Louis University. He has served the History of Reading SIG in several capacities including Treasurer and more recently as President. Sheila Shapiro associate professor at North-eastern Illinois University teaches reading courses. This article was an outgrowth of a recent presentation Peter and Sheila made at the History of Reading SIG in Anaheim.

BIOGRAPHICAL DATES

1813 Born at West Stockbridge, Massachusetts, on December 8.

1821 Moved to farm at Allen's Hill, New York.

1831-33 Student at Canandaigua Academy, NY.

1836 Graduated from Union College. Taught classics and mathematics at Highland Gymnasium at Fishkill Landing, NY.

1836-40 Taught at Poughkeepsie Collegiate Institution. Studied law, admitted to bar in 1840.

1837 Published first book on architectural drawing, intended for use at Poughkeepsie (republished several times).

1838 Married at Allen's Hill to Frances Ann Pierpont.

1841-44 Practiced law--bronchial trouble compelled him to drop his practice.

1845 Published first book intended for younger children--School History of the United States. Expanded to many other history books for use in schools and colleges.

1849-53 Principal of Canandaigua Academy. Offered presidency of Vassar's Woman's College at its founding - declined because of contracts he had to write school books.

1853 Full-time writer.

1860 School and Family Readers (first four books) - took four years to write.

1872 United States Readers.

1881 Lippincott's Popular Series of Readers

1904 Patented educational chart.

1905 Died Vineland, NJ.

SELECTED WORKS BY MARCIUS WILLSON

(Various Publishers but primarily Harper & Bros.)

1837 Linear Perspective, Landscape and Architectural Drawing

1838 Civil Polity and Political Economy

1845 School History of the United States

1846 American History (reissued for 30 years in various forms)

1854 Outlines of History

1860 School and Family Reader

1862 A Manual of Information and Suggestions for Object Lessons in the Course of Elementary Instruction (adapted to the use of school and family charts and other aids in teaching).

1863 Willson's Primary Speller

1864 Willson's Large Speller

1872 Harper's United States Series of Readers

1873 The Drawing Guide: A Manual of Instruction in Industrial Drawing

1881 Lippincott's Popular Series of Readers Das Zweite Buch der Realkenntnisse, Naturkunde, Erdbeschreibung, Geschichte

1883 Mosaics of Grecian History

Mosaics of Bible History (2 vols)

1888 The Wonderful Story of Old (2 vols: illustrated works on the Bible)