The New Augsburg's Drawing: Fourth Year Book Hardcover | 1910

The New Augsburg's Drawing: Fourth Year Book by D. R. Augsburg, published by Educational Publishing Company, Boston, 1910. Condition is fair, consistent with a book that was actively used by a student. Please see photos for full details.

Condition notes: the book shows significant student use, with many tracing marks throughout reflecting its life as a hands-on art instruction text. There is damage to the spine, wear to the cover edges, and some slight staining to the cover. These are reflected in the fair condition grade and the photos, and buyers should review the photos carefully before purchasing. The interior illustrations, however, remain present and interesting throughout.

D. R. Augsburg, whose full name was De Resco Leo Augsburg (1859 to 1922), was an American illustrator and art educator who held director of drawing positions in public school systems across the country, including the Keystone State Normal School in Pennsylvania, the Salt Lake City public schools, and the Oakland and San Francisco public schools, a remarkable breadth of influence for a single art educator of that era. His Augsburg's Drawing series was designed as a complete graded course in freehand drawing for American schoolchildren, and the Fourth Year Book specifically was intended for students in grades four through eight, containing the essentials of freehand drawing arranged for maximum flexibility in teaching.

The tracing marks left by a past student give this particular copy a special character, a genuine artifact of an early 20th century American art classroom in active use. A wonderful addition for collectors of antique educational materials, American art instruction history, or early 20th century illustrated school texts. Original copies of the Augsburg's Drawing series in any condition are increasingly scarce, as the books were designed to be used up rather than preserved, making surviving examples genuine pieces of American educational history.