husband

Matrimonial Advice

“A little book of advice to be given to all those contemplating matrimony, married or engaged.” Embossed gold lettering adorns the linen cover of this charming and humorous book of advice for wedded bliss. The book is divided into two sections: “Advice to the Man” and “Advice to the Woman,” in which pages alternate between 17 polychromatic drawings on watercolor paper, colored by the author, and black and white pages with sketches and quatrains elaborating on the simple advice.

Matrimonial ladder: or Such things are

A wonderfully illustrated and "wise" little volume about the ups and downs of marriage. Both the text, which was written in verse, and the illustrations were etched on metal plates, printed, and then hand-colored. The content is summarized on the title page and it may well speak to those being tried by love: "So they ripe, and ripe! / And rot, and rot! / And hereby hangs a tail!! / 'Tis true, 'tis pity / And pity 'tis, 'tis true!!!".

Marriage : Its History and Ceremonies

A mid-nineteenth century illustrated book about the functions and qualifications for happy marriages. A very popular pseudo-science at the time this book was written, phrenology constitutes the foundation of the discussion. Phrenology drew connections between the shape of the human skull and personality traits. These methods are in varied ways used in this work which also focuses on psychological approaches to describing happy or unhappy marriages.