Greenleaf’s New Primary Arithmetic, Embracing Mental and Written Exercises, For Beginners by Benjamin Greenleaf

Greenleaf’s New Primary Arithmetic, Embracing Mental and Written Exercises, For Beginners is designed to introduce analytical reasoning and the fundamentals of arithmetic to primary school students. Each lesson plan is centered on everyday objects and activities and incorporates related illustrations. The book has 104 pages. The green front cover depicts a 19th Century schoolboy reclining in a meadow while practicing his arithmetic lessons. The pastoral scene includes a house and church steeple in the background. The rear cover lists the names of other texts in the Greenleaf’s Series. The inside front cover page contains a handwritten inscription by the owner: “Grace M. Hackett,/ Shurborough,/ Vermont,/ 1889.”

Benjamin Greenleaf (1786-1864) was a prominent American educator and author. He graduated from Dartmouth with an M.A. in 1813. He served as the Preceptor of Bradford Academy in Vermont. Greenleaf was a celebrated writer of early mathematics textbooks. He also served in the Massachusetts state legislature from 1837-1839.

Leech, Shewell and Sanborn, based in Boston, was a distinguished 19th Century publisher of textbooks, atlases, and literary works.

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