Der Mensch im Symbole

FROST, Wenzel; KOTATKO, Wenzel

Verlag: Prague: Gottlieb Hasse Söhne, 1846

Beschreibung

8vo. [viii], 180 pp. 16 full-page lithographed plates, 5 of which are heightened in gilt. Publisher's contemporary patterned marbled paper boards. Edges lightly rubbed, Some light foxing, but overall a very good copy with the plates clean and bright. Now housed in a custom slipcase. First edition, a curious attempt to devise a system of anthropology and psychology based exclusively on observation of deaf-mutes. Building on the sociological work of Kaspar Hauser, the authors, director and instructor at the Prague Institute for Deaf-Mutes, assert that the actions of the deaf and dumb take place in a sort of vacuum in which the true spiritual nature of man can be witnessed. They argue that gestures and facial expressions are the language of the soul and are the key in understanding the relationship between the body and spirit. The first nine illustrations show men expressing various emotions by way of body language and hand signals. The other six are almost psychedelic, portraying thought and will as a sort of circular diagram leading from intention to action. OCLC locates only 4 copies worldwide: UCLA, Harvard, University of Chicago, and Manchester. A Czech edition was published the same year. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 401

Bibliografische Details

Titel: Der Mensch im Symbole

Verlag: Prague: Gottlieb Hasse Söhne

Erscheinungsdatum: 1846

Einband: Hardcover

Zustand: Near Fine

Zustand des Schutzumschlags: No Jacket

Auflage: 1st Edition