Originally issued in the mid-19th century and here in a revised and corrected edition (circa 1890), Reverend Wm. M. Cooper’s A History of the Rod in All Countries is nothing if not comprehensive. No corner of civilization is spared his attention: the classroom, the cloister, the courtroom, the boudoir, all find themselves under the stern authority of the rod.
Lavishly supplied with black-and-white illustrations, the volume depicts scenes of chastisement both sacred and secular. The engravings range from medieval monks flagellating themselves in ecstatic devotion, to worldly tutors ensuring discipline with a firm hand. The result is at once a sober historical inquiry and a text that betrays, in true Victorian fashion, a rather guilty fascination with the very subject it condemns.
The allure of this work lies in that tension. Is it a moral warning? A scholarly compendium? Or a barely concealed cabinet of curiosities? Likely all three. For collectors of the curious and the risqué, Cooper’s tome remains a touchstone, a book whose pious veneer cannot quite conceal the frisson at its core.
Rev. Wm. M. Cooper. A History of the Rod in All Countries from the Earliest Period to the Present Time. Revised and corrected edition. c.1890. 8vo. Bright gold-stamped, embossed brown cloth. [5] 544 [4]. Numerous black-and-white illustrations. Index. Clean text, no ownership marks. Binding solid, corners lightly bumped, cloth with only modest edgewear. A collectible and fine copy.
Originally issued in the mid-19th century and here in a revised and corrected edition (circa 1890), Reverend Wm. M. Cooper’s A History of the Rod in All Countries is nothing if not comprehensive. No corner of civilization is spared his attention: the classroom, the cloister, the courtroom, the boudoir, all find themselves under the stern authority of the rod.
Lavishly supplied with black-and-white illustrations, the volume depicts scenes of chastisement both sacred and secular. The engravings range from medieval monks flagellating themselves in ecstatic devotion, to worldly tutors ensuring discipline with a firm hand. The result is at once a sober historical inquiry and a text that betrays, in true Victorian fashion, a rather guilty fascination with the very subject it condemns.
The allure of this work lies in that tension. Is it a moral warning? A scholarly compendium? Or a barely concealed cabinet of curiosities? Likely all three. For collectors of the curious and the risqué, Cooper’s tome remains a touchstone, a book whose pious veneer cannot quite conceal the frisson at its core.
Rev. Wm. M. Cooper. A History of the Rod in All Countries from the Earliest Period to the Present Time. Revised and corrected edition. c.1890. 8vo. Bright gold-stamped, embossed brown cloth. [5] 544 [4]. Numerous black-and-white illustrations. Index. Clean text, no ownership marks. Binding solid, corners lightly bumped, cloth with only modest edgewear. A collectible and fine copy.
