Boston: Walker, Wise & Co, 1863. First edition. Original publisher's cloth binding stamped in blind with gilt to spine. Yellow endpapers. Measuring 190 x 120mm and collating complete: [2], [iii], iv-xxiii, [1, blank], 500. Loss to crown of spine and slight bowing to front board; gilt a bit dulled. Light scattered foxing throughout with all text legible. A groundbreaking book on American women's employment, the present title is scarce institutionally and in trade. Self-published and not widely sold in its first issue, the vast majority of OCLC listings are for likely digital copies with approximately 3 of these likely to be physical books. It has appeared only twice at auction (in 1912 and 1895) with the present being the only example on the market.

Virginia Penny's The Employments of Women was the first work of its kind published in America. released at the height of the Civil War as women filled labor shortages on both sides of the Mason-Dixon. A fervent believer in equal rights across race, gender, class, and bodily ability, Penny would later serve as the Kentucky delegate the the inclusive American Equal Rights Association. First, however, she dedicated herself to the present work. The Employments of Women presented to readers "a clear and succinct view of the condition of business in the United States, the openings for entering into business, the vacancies women may fill and the crowded marts they may avoid, the qualifications for a selected pursuit...the probable result pecuniarily of each calling...in short, it is intended as a business manual for women." Drawing on U.S. Census documents supplemented by her own extensive questionnaires and interviews "obtained from October 1859 to February 1861," Penny created identified five hundred potential occupations available to "women of the North, South, East, and West of this vast Republic," including women of color and women with disabilities. Her hope was that more of America's women would gain financial independence: "I strongly advocate the plan of every female having a practical knowledge of some occupation by which to earn a livelihood." Numerous positions are listed across finance, medicine, manufacturing, agriculture, and communication; notable, the book trade was field particularly open to women, with positions including printing, lithography, engraving, illustrating, binding, and decorative book arts.

Despite the groundbreaking nature of Penny's book and in the face of her own practical approach, the first edition of The Employments of Women "was not widely sold" (Biographical Dictionary of Women Economists). "After being denied financial backing...Penny used her inheritance to fund the 1863 first printing of her book," and the financial constraints and lack of advertising resulted in few copies being produced or distributed (BDWE). Her work would not reach a wide audience until 1866, when the rights were purchased by another publisher who re-released it under the new and more common title How Women Can Make Money.

Sabin 60794. (Item #5397)