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The Refuge or, Story of Archibald Thompson. [House of Refuge in Philadelphia]

Swearing, drinking, smoking, Sabbath-breaking and horse-races…

The son of a Philadelphia house carpenter, Archibald is a wayward child whose thievery and lack of moral fibre lands him in detention in the city’s House of Refuge. The errors of his ways are shown to him and he is put to work with other socially-redeemable boys making brass nails.

While standard Sunday School literature fare, a healthy amount of the text is devoted to explaining the day-to-day life of the House of Refuge and its wayward citizens. Five full-page plates show the inmate population in various settings.

Readers could follow-up on Archibald’s continue adventures in the book’s sequel, The Infidel Class; or, The Second Part of the Story of Archibald Thompson.

Description: [Anon.]. The Refuge or, Story of Archibald Thompson. [House of Refuge in Philadelphia]

Philadelphia: American Sunday School Union, 1835. Frontis., 12mo, 78, [2]pp. + 5 full-page plates and inter-textual illustrations. In publisher’s original cloth spine, marbled boards. Binding worn, internally, scattered dampstains or toning. A sound servicable copy.

[3732867]

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