210 MATTHEW FONTAINE MAURY 



In July, 1866, Maury was engaged by Richardson and 

 Company, a publishing house of New York City, to 

 write a series of geographies for the public schools. It 

 was agreed to make the series embrace "First Lessons in 

 Geography", "Intermediate Geography", "Manual of 

 Geography", "Academic Geography", and "Physical 

 Geography". Maury was to be paid $10,000, $1000 

 for each volume on the receipt of the manuscript and 

 $1000 more for each volume three months after publica- 

 tion. He was to receive also $600 for revising each 

 book, for five successive years. The following year an 

 additional agreement was signed for the publishing of 

 "Practical Astronomy for Schools", Maury to receive 

 $1500 after the delivery of the manuscript and $1500 

 three months after its publication. 



In August, 1866 Maury wrote, "I am hard at work on 

 Geography No. I, 'Brave' drawing the maps. Well, I 

 could not wind up my career more usefully — and use- 

 fulness is both honor and glory — than by helping to 

 shape the character and mould the destinies of the rising 

 generations". Most of the work on these school books 

 was completed before he left England to return to 

 Virginia in the summer of 1868, but at that time only the 

 first two of the series; namely, "First Lessons in Geogra- 

 phy" and "The World We Live In", which was the 

 "Intermediate Geography" of the contract, had been 

 published. From the very beginning their reception 

 in the United States was very flattering, and Maury was 

 delighted with his success. 



The first little book contained only sixty-two pages. 

 Its preface stated that the pupils were to be taken on 

 imaginary voyages and journeys twice around the world 

 — once by sea and once by land, and it closed with these 



