We recently received a catalogue from Harald Hultqvist Rare Books, their Catalogue IV. Hultqvist is located in Stockholm, Sweden. That is somewhat surprising considering what is found in this catalogue. This is not a typical catalogue. It has but one item in it. That one book is far removed from Sweden. It comes from America, though perhaps it is better connected in terms of the positions it advocates. It relates to a socialistic community, and socialism is more popular in Sweden than America.
The book is A New View of Society, or, Essays on the Formation of the Human Character Preparatory to the Development of a Plan for Gradually Ameliorating the Condition of Mankind, by Robert Owen. Owen owned a textile mill in New Lanark in Scotland, but he was anything but your typical scrooge-like, heartless capitalist of the early 19th century. He was deeply concerned about his workers and initiated numerous reforms in his mill, including the eight-hour work day. In 1813-14, he published this description of his philosophy in England. While he initiated reforms in his mill, he sought to create a whole new type of community, one that served the best interests of workers. High on his list was education. He wanted the children of workers to get a first-rate education. He believed in a focus on science, a slight to the religion of the day that did not enhance his popularity.
In 1825, he decided to put his beliefs to work. He would build his ideal community. He found an existing community for sale in Indiana in far-off America. With money from his mill, he bought it and made the journey west. It had been owned by a German religious sect which had moved on. The community was named Harmonie. Owen changed the name to New Harmony.
Ultimately, the community failed. It lasted only two years. Owen returned to England. However, his views had a lasting effect on many people around the world. While not the first expression of socialist ideals, many regard Owen as the founder of modern socialism. Printing and the Mind of Man describes Owen's A New View of Society as “the first practical statement of socialist doctrine [which] came not from a theorist but from one who based it on practical experiment.”
This takes us to the copy of Owen's book that Hultqvist is offering. It is not a first edition. It's a fourth at best, more likely a sixth. What makes this special are two factors. One is its extreme rarity. The other that it was printed in New Harmony. The earliest editions were published in England before Owen purchased New Harmony and came to America.
It also appears according to Hultqvist's research that two other American editions preceded it, so it is at best only a third American edition and sixth overall. Also dated 1825 are editions published in New York and Cincinnati. Hultqvist thinks it's more likely New York came first as Owen would have first come to New York, and then to Cincinnati on his way to New Harmony. While there was a press there already when Owen purchased the community, this book appears to have been printed from a press he purchased to publish the New Harmony Gazette. That would date this edition as coming after those from New York and Cincinnati.
The factor that makes this copy so special, beyond it being the only edition published in New Harmony, is its extreme rarity. It is the only known copy. Hultqvist has searched through library catalogues and OCLC and found no other copies. No other copies are found in the auction records nor are they aware of any other that has been sold by a dealer. This one appears to be a one-of-a-kind. Nor does it show up in bibliographies, or research or literature concerning the book dating back to the 19th century. The first citing of an edition that might be this one is in a 2018 thesis referring to an advertisement offering this title in the New Harmony Gazette. The press run appears to be unknown.
The history of this copy is also very limited. There are two signatures in the book. The older one, in pencil and almost erased, may read “Joseph Gray.” Hultqvist was unable to track down such an individual. The other is William St. Clair. He had a large book collection, including “books...not available or easily discoverable elsewhere.” Radical literature was part of his collection. St. Clair died in 2021 so he cannot be a source of any further information on the book's provenance.
This only known copy of the New Harmony printed edition of A New View of Society is priced at SEK 480,000 (Swedish krona, or approximately $47,600 in U.S. dollars).
Harald Hultqvist Rare Books may be reached at haralds.hylla@gmail.com. Their phone number is +46733521815.
