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1856 Rare Victorian Treatise on Physiognomy - Language of the Eye by J. Turnley
1856 Rare Victorian Treatise on Physiognomy - Language of the Eye by J. Turnley
1856 Rare Victorian Treatise on Physiognomy - Language of the Eye by J. Turnley
1856 Rare Victorian Treatise on Physiognomy - Language of the Eye by J. Turnley
1856 Rare Victorian Treatise on Physiognomy - Language of the Eye by J. Turnley
1856 Rare Victorian Treatise on Physiognomy - Language of the Eye by J. Turnley
1856 Rare Victorian Treatise on Physiognomy - Language of the Eye by J. Turnley
1856 Rare Victorian Treatise on Physiognomy - Language of the Eye by J. Turnley
1856 Rare Victorian Treatise on Physiognomy - Language of the Eye by J. Turnley
1856 Rare Victorian Treatise on Physiognomy - Language of the Eye by J. Turnley
1856 Rare Victorian Treatise on Physiognomy - Language of the Eye by J. Turnley
1856 Rare Victorian Treatise on Physiognomy - Language of the Eye by J. Turnley
1856 Rare Victorian Treatise on Physiognomy - Language of the Eye by J. Turnley
1856 Rare Victorian Treatise on Physiognomy - Language of the Eye by J. Turnley
1856 Rare Victorian Treatise on Physiognomy - Language of the Eye by J. Turnley
1856 Rare Victorian Treatise on Physiognomy - Language of the Eye by J. Turnley
1856 Rare Victorian Treatise on Physiognomy - Language of the Eye by J. Turnley
1856 Rare Victorian Treatise on Physiognomy - Language of the Eye by J. Turnley
1856 Rare Victorian Treatise on Physiognomy - Language of the Eye by J. Turnley
1856 Rare Victorian Treatise on Physiognomy - Language of the Eye by J. Turnley
1856 Rare Victorian Treatise on Physiognomy - Language of the Eye by J. Turnley
1856 Rare Victorian Treatise on Physiognomy - Language of the Eye by J. Turnley
1856 Rare Victorian Treatise on Physiognomy - Language of the Eye by J. Turnley
1856 Rare Victorian Treatise on Physiognomy - Language of the Eye by J. Turnley
1856 Rare Victorian Treatise on Physiognomy - Language of the Eye by J. Turnley

1856 Rare Victorian Treatise on Physiognomy - Language of the Eye by J. Turnley

$200 USD - $200 USD
$200 USD
$200 USD - $200 USD
$200 USD

Author: Joseph Turnley. Illustrated by Gilbert, Anelay, etc.
Title: The Language of the Eye: The Importance and Dignity of the Eye as Indicative of General Character, Female Beauty, and Manly Genius.
Publisher: London: Partridge and Co., Paternoster Row, 1856.
Language: Text in English. 
Size: 8.5 x 5.5 inches.
Pages: 118 pages.
Binding: Attractive and very good, publisher’s original rich red cloth binding, elaborately decorated in full gilt with ornate Victorian floral and arabesque designs to the front board and spine, enclosed within a gilt-ruled border (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed - as shown, light rubbing to extremities, very slight wear to spine ends – as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. All edges gilt. A striking and highly decorative mid-19th-century gilt cloth binding.
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light foxing and staining particularly to plates and preliminaries – as shown, early ink signature to front blank page dated 1920 - as shown). 
Illustrations: Complete with a frontispiece portrait of the author and 9 full-page plates depicting expressions, physiognomic types, and symbolic interpretations of the eye.

Estimate: (USD 225 – 250).

The book: A fascinating and visually engaging 1856 Victorian treatise on physiognomy and the expressive power of the human eye — blending moral philosophy, pseudoscience, aesthetics, and the era’s fascination with character reading. The Language of the Eye explores themes such as general expression, national expression, genius, innocence, love, sorrow, dignity, and beauty, each accompanied by engraved illustrations reflecting mid-Victorian ideals of physiognomic “types.”

The work exemplifies the 19th-century cultural preoccupation with reading personality through physical features, particularly the eyes, considered the chief “index” of moral and emotional life. This Partridge & Co. edition is especially appealing for its lavishly gilt-decorated publisher’s binding, a hallmark of mid-century gift books and domestic literature.

The author: Joseph Turnley was a 19th-century writer known for works on history, physiognomy, and moral philosophy, including Phisicraft and The Monarchs of the Middle Ages. His writings reflect the Victorian era’s interest in character analysis, moral education, and the symbolic interpretation of human expression. In this volume, Turnley blends observation, sentiment, and speculative science to articulate the supposed correspondence between the eye and intellectual or emotional traits.

The illustrators: The engravers Gilbert, Anelay, and others contributed expressive and finely detailed illustrations that complement Turnley’s themes. Their plates — depicting allegorical figures, expressive female portraits, and emblematic physiognomic types — offer insight into Victorian aesthetics and the period’s fascination with moralized portraiture. The engravings enhance the charm, curiosity, and period character of this unusual work.