Bosworth, Rev. Joseph — The Necessity of the Antipauper System — First Edition, 1829

Author: Rev. Joseph Bosworth, M.A., F.A.S.
Full Title: The Necessity of the Antipauper System, Shewn by an Example of the Oppression and Misery Produced by the Allowance System, Which Paralizes the Beneficial Operation of Friendly Societies, Savings’ Banks, Select Vestries, Well Managed Workhouses, and Every Other Means of Ameliorating the Condition of the Poor; Addressed to the Select Committee of the House of Commons, on the Poor Laws
Publication: London: printed for W. Simpkin and R. Marshall, Stationers’ Hall Court; John Hatchard and Son, 187 Piccadilly; and J. Seeley, Buckingham
Date: 1829
Edition: First edition
Format: Octavo
Pagination: xii, 50 pp., with 2 pp. advertisements
Binding: Later burgundy cloth, gilt-lettered spine
Stock Code: 004197
Location: Bookroom

First edition of this scarce and substantial 1829 tract on pauperism, the allowance system and reform of the English Poor Laws, written by the Rev. Joseph Bosworth (1788–1876) and addressed directly to the Select Committee of the House of Commons on the Poor Laws. Bibliographical records confirm the 1829 edition as xii, 50 pages and identify it as Goldsmiths’-Kress no. 25946, placing it within one of the principal collections of historical economic and social literature.

The work argues strongly against the allowance system — the practice by which parish poor relief supplemented inadequate wages — which Bosworth believed had become destructive both to labourers and to the institutions intended to encourage independence. His title encapsulates the argument: indiscriminate allowance, he maintains, undermined the beneficial effects of friendly societies, savings banks, select vestries, well-managed workhouses and other mechanisms intended to improve the condition of the poor.

Bosworth’s discussion is not merely theoretical. A substantial portion of the pamphlet is based upon conditions in Little Horwood, Buckinghamshire, where he had served as vicar. The contents trace what he regarded as the “oppressed and miserable state” of the parish, the scale of the poor rates, the administration of the vestry, relationships between labourers and landlords, the effect of roundsmen and wage supplementation and the social consequences of making relief part of the normal economy of agricultural labour.

He then proposes what he calls an “Antipauper System”, founded upon stricter administration of the existing Poor Laws and the encouragement of institutions designed to reward independence and thrift. The contents include discussion of religious instruction, schools, clothing societies, allotments or agricultural plots, Friendly Societies, Savings Banks, Select Vestries and associated workhouses. His underlying contention is that parish support should provide a genuine safety net rather than become a permanent subsidy to low wages or an economic mechanism which discouraged both employers and labourers from improving conditions.

The pamphlet is especially valuable because it appeared during a period of intense debate over the English Poor Laws, five years before the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834. Bosworth explicitly addresses the parliamentary inquiry into the subject and engages directly with contemporary arguments surrounding outdoor relief, wages, workhouses and the administration of pauperism. The Poor Laws were also being actively debated in Parliament in 1829, demonstrating the immediacy of the subject when Bosworth published his tract.

Joseph Bosworth

The author is better known today for an entirely different field. Joseph Bosworth (1788–1876) became one of the most important nineteenth-century scholars of Old English. He had already published his Elements of Anglo-Saxon Grammar in 1823 and would later produce his major Dictionary of the Anglo-Saxon Language in 1838. He ultimately became Rawlinsonian Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, while the Cambridge professorship of Anglo-Saxon later bearing his name arose from his benefaction.

At the time this pamphlet appeared, however, Bosworth was still intimately involved in parish life. He had become vicar of Little Horwood in 1817, and his experience there clearly supplied the practical material underlying the present work. In 1829 — the year this pamphlet was published — he was also elected Fellow of the Royal Society and shortly afterwards moved to the Netherlands as a chaplain, first at Amsterdam and later Rotterdam.

The title page is consequently rather striking in retrospect. It already records Bosworth’s considerable scholarly standing — including membership of the Royal Society of Literature, the Royal Society of Sciences of Northern Norway, the Society of Antiquaries at Copenhagen and other learned bodies — yet the subject is practical social reform rather than philology.

Bosworth himself later continued to advertise the work alongside his writings on pauperism. A nineteenth-century publisher’s list describes The Necessity of the Anti-Pauper System as an octavo publication of 1829, priced at two shillings, and places it within a sequence of his writings on the Poor Laws.

Condition

Bound in a later burgundy cloth binding, gilt-lettered to the spine. The binding is firm, clean and attractive. The pages are generally very nice and clean, with only light age-related evidence of use. The contents and advertisements are present. Now housed in an easily removable clear acetate cover.

Very good indeed.

An unusually attractive copy of a scarce pre-1834 Poor Law tract, important both as a contemporary contribution to debates over pauperism and outdoor relief and as a comparatively little-known work by Joseph Bosworth, later one of the defining scholars of Anglo-Saxon language and literature.

Stock code: 004197. Location: Bookroom.

Why Buy from Hornseys?

Established in 1976, Hornseys is an independent specialist bookseller and gallery based in Ripon, North Yorkshire, on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. For nearly fifty years, we have bought and sold rare books, first editions, signed and inscribed books, manuscripts, historical documents, maps, prints and unusual works on paper to private collectors, libraries, institutions and clients throughout the United Kingdom and internationally.

Our approach is based on careful research, accurate identification, detailed condition assessment and transparent cataloguing. Every item is individually examined before being offered for sale. We believe that rarity alone does not make an object important: the strongest books, manuscripts and historical material combine rarity with provenance, condition, historical context, bibliographical significance and collector appeal.

Research, Expertise and Authenticity

Every book, manuscript, map, print or piece of historical ephemera offered by Hornseys is researched and catalogued individually. We examine the features that determine both authenticity and value, including edition and impression, issue points, bindings, dustwrappers, signatures, inscriptions, annotations, provenance, printing history, completeness and condition.

Where appropriate, we compare items against bibliographical references, institutional catalogues, library holdings, auction records, archival sources and other reliable evidence. Where a point cannot be established with certainty, we distinguish clearly between documented fact and informed interpretation rather than presenting an assumption as fact.

All items are offered with an unconditional guarantee of authenticity.

Accurate and Detailed Descriptions

We aim to describe each item as precisely as possible. Condition is assessed individually, with defects, restoration, incompleteness or other significant characteristics noted where relevant.

For books, this may include collation, edition and impression, dustwrapper state, binding condition and significant ownership marks. For maps and works on paper, we assess the exact edition or state, printing information, dimensions, institutional representation, provenance and physical condition.

Our photographs form an important part of each description and are intended to allow collectors to examine the item closely before purchase.

Provenance and Historical Context

Provenance can transform the significance of a book or document. We therefore place particular emphasis on establishing previous ownership, presentation inscriptions, authorial associations, institutional provenance and connections with historical individuals or events.

Where research allows, we trace these associations through contemporary records, archives and published sources. This can reveal information that is not immediately apparent from the object itself and allows us to catalogue material within its proper historical and bibliographical context.

We are equally careful not to overstate provenance. Documented ownership is distinguished from attribution, possibility or association.

Carefully Curated Stock

Hornseys does not buy simply by category. We select material because we believe it has something distinctive to offer: rarity, condition, design, provenance, historical importance, unusual subject matter or enduring collector interest.

Our stock includes particular strengths in:

Rare and collectible books; literary first editions; signed and inscribed books; children’s and illustrated books; military history; Churchilliana; fine bindings; manuscripts and historical documents; rare and historical maps; travel and exploration; original prints and works on paper; unusual historical ephemera; and specialist collecting areas including Tintin and the Collins New Naturalist series.

This breadth allows us to recognise connections between books, archives, maps and other historical material that might otherwise be overlooked.

Specialist Experience Since 1976

Hornseys has traded since 1976. That longevity matters. The rare-book and collecting markets are built not only on reference works and databases but on experience: understanding how editions differ, recognising unusual states and bindings, judging condition, identifying material that is genuinely difficult to find and distinguishing real scarcity from apparent scarcity.

We combine that long-standing experience with modern research methods and extensive comparison of institutional and commercial records. The result is cataloguing intended to be both scholarly and practical for collectors.

Condition and Completeness

Every item is physically examined before cataloguing. Where relevant, books are checked for completeness, maps and plates are counted, folding material is inspected, and bindings and dustwrappers are assessed separately.

We do not use age alone as an excuse for faults. A seventeenth-century book, a wartime map and a twentieth-century first edition are judged according to the standards appropriate to their type, while significant defects are described clearly.

Customer Service

We aim to make buying from Hornseys straightforward and informed. We are happy to answer questions about condition, provenance, edition, rarity, bibliographical points or collecting significance, and additional photographs can be provided where required.

Orders are carefully packed, with UK delivery tracked and insured and international orders sent by appropriate tracked and insured services.

Collectors are also welcome to visit our gallery in Ripon to view material in person.

Returns Guarantee

All items are offered with our guarantee of authenticity and may be returned within fourteen days of receipt for any reason, provided they are returned in the same condition in which they were supplied.

We simply ask that you contact us before returning an item. If an item has been incorrectly described or supplied in error, we will also cover the appropriate return postage.

Buy with Confidence from Hornseys

Whether you are acquiring a first edition, building a specialist collection, researching a historical association or simply buying an object that fascinates you, our aim is the same: to offer carefully selected material, accurately researched and honestly described.

After nearly fifty years in the trade, Hornseys continues to seek out books, maps, manuscripts, prints and historical material that combine rarity, provenance, condition and genuine cultural or historical interest.