JACKSONVILLE FEMALE ACADEMY
Three catalogues for the Jacksonville Female Academy, one of the earliest educational institutions for women in Illinois. Founded in 1830, it merged in 1903 with Illinois College to become a co-educational institution.
The Academy was established to educate and prepare its students for their roles as fashionable women of the 19th century. It also included a Conservatory of Music.
The catalogues offered here represent the years 1866, 1869, and 1875. They include a list of teachers, students, as well as courses being taught, and rules and expectations for students, with an emphasis on punctuality. The 1875 program, marking the 45th year of the institution, includes the following statement: “It makes no displays to deceive, no large promises it cannot fulfill. Its whole policy is open and honest, its whole working quiet and earnest, and its aim to confer all the benefits of a thorough course of study, to educate to a true womanhood, and to adorn with all the graces of a refined and Christian culture.”
The general course of study included everything from spelling and reading, to Latin, trigonometry, astronomy, moral philosophy, and geography. Special courses in painting, instrumental, and vocal music were also offered. Students were graded based off their course work as well as the “deportment”.
The covers of the catalogues are stained with some edgewear. There are holdings of Academy directories at Illinois College; however, the years offered in this grouping are not present. Item #78819
Price: $500.00