The Principles of Psychology.

JAMES, William.

Item Number: 105105

New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1890.

First edition, first printing of James’ vastly influential textbook on psychology. Octavo, two volumes, original cloth with gilt titles to the spines, illustrated with numerous tables and diagrams, 8 pages of advertisements. First state with the hyphenated ‘Psy-chology’  in the advertisement opposite the title page of vol. I and misprints on page 10 of vol. I and page 101 of vol. II. Tipped in to the front pastedown of vol. I is an autograph note signed and entirely in the hand or James on his Irving Street letterhead which reads, “Dec. 16, ’90 My dear Croswell, I thought I had answered your letter of the other day, but found to my surprise the empty envelope in my envelope reservoir – what you say does equal credit to your head and heart and proves to be an honour to American Criticism! Seriously speaking, you warm my heart, for it is only by such responses that a fellow gets the feeling that his book has any reality. They haven’t begun to come in in any number yet nor will they I fear, although the friends to whom I have sent the vols. call them noble…Good luck to you and & yours! W.J.” With the recipient’s bookplates to the pastedowns of each volume. In very good condition with light rubbing to the crown and foot of the spines, some annotations throughout. Rare and desirable, offering an intimate glimpse into the author’s thoughts on the initial reception of what would become a seminal work in the history of modern thought. A superior example of this notoriously fragile set.

A seminal work in the history of psychology and philosophy, James' Principles of Psychology summarized the field of psychology through the time of its publication and introduced what James considered to be the four primary methods of psychology: stream of consciousness (James' most famous psychological metaphor); emotion (later known as the James–Lange theory); habit (human habits are constantly formed to achieve certain results); and will (through James' personal experiences in life). Published at a time when psychology was beginning to gain popularity and acclaim in the United States, the work solidified psychology's credibility as a science.