HOWARD, John.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

État des prisons, des hôpitaux et des maisons de force. First edition in French of Howard's pioneering work on prisons and penal reform, "the first major practical work on the subject" (PMM), first published in Warrington in 1777. The engraved plates depict the floorplans and façades of prisons and hospitals across the Continent, as well as group portraits of male and female prisoners working.After visiting Bedford Gaol, one of the most influential prisons in English history, Howard successfully passed two Acts in the House of Commons to improve the quality of life for both prisoners and gaolers. "Encouraged by this success he then set out on a systematic tour of British and continental prisons. He noticed the comparative absence of crime in the Low Countries and saw the cause in the reformatory treatment there bestowed on criminals. The French authorities tried to prevent his access to their prisons, but he was able to circumvent them and published the results of his inspection. This and the report of his expedition as a whole formed part of The State of Prisons" (PMM). The first French translation is "a rather free rendering of the 1784 English edition. There is no evidence of the identity of the translator in the volume, but J.-M. Quérard attributes the translation to Louise-Félicité Guinement de Kéralio (1758-1821)" (Baumgartner).

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