British Library 19th Century Historical Collections iPad App.

App Description:
This application provides access to titles from the British Library’s 19th century book collection. It includes classic novels, works of philosophy, history and science. Browse, search and read these historic books on a platform that enhances the reading experience. These digital book images have been captured in colour to preserve the look of the original book. Marbled papers, embossed covers, engraved illustrations maps, and beautifully coloured plates are intact and help create a unique reading environment.

Features:
• Search the collection
• Browse titles by subject
• Read commentary on selected titles
• View images of original maps
• See author inscriptions and margin notes
• Create favorite title lists
• Download books for offline reading

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UK VERSION

REST OF WORLD VERSION

Below are highlighted titles from the 19th Century Collection with multi-media commentary --

7929059639
The Free Lands of Iowa. Being an accurate description of the Sioux City land-district, etc. A.R. Fulton (Des Moines, Iowa, 1869) This 67 page pamphlet showing all the vacant lands still available in northwest Iowa in 1869 was written for “all in search of cheap homes.” It describes the counties in the district, explains the system of public land surveys, and prints the requirements of the Homestead Act (originally signed into law in 1862, the Homestead Act gave anyone who met the requirements 160 acres of undeveloped federal land west of the Mississippi). The information provided for each county includes streams, lakes, springs and wells, timber, soil and surface, game, health, settlements, statistics, and a section titled “What is needed.” Palo Alto County, for example, boasted “ten schools…in which children are taught at least six months in the year” as well as “one saw mill, three blacksmith shops, one store, one doctor, one lawyer and six post offices.” The principle agricultural crops were corn, wheat, oats, and potatoes. “Good first-class prairie” could be had for $2.50 - $5.00 an acre. The descriptions of Iowa are accurate and appreciative. The author writes “we have no elevations that can be called mountains, and yet no considerable portion of the surface is level” and further that Iowa is made up of “vast prairies possessing a weird sublimity that no pen can describe.” In a state where over 150 days per year are below freezing, the author adds in a thundering understatement that the “the winters are cold.” Geography & Topography

The Free Lands of Iowa. Being an accurate description of the Sioux City land-district, etc.

A.R. Fulton (Des Moines, Iowa, 1869)


This 67 page pamphlet showing all the vacant lands still available in northwest Iowa in 1869 was written for “all in search of cheap homes.” It describes the counties in the district, explains the system of public land surveys, and prints the requirements of the Homestead Act (originally signed into law in 1862, the Homestead Act gave anyone who met the requirements 160 acres of undeveloped federal land west of the Mississippi). The information provided for each county includes streams, lakes, springs and wells, timber, soil and surface, game, health, settlements, statistics, and a section titled “What is needed.” Palo Alto County, for example, boasted “ten schools…in which children are taught at least six months in the year” as well as “one saw mill, three blacksmith shops, one store, one doctor, one lawyer and six post offices.” The principle agricultural crops were corn, wheat, oats, and potatoes. “Good first-class prairie” could be had for $2.50 - $5.00 an acre. The descriptions of Iowa are accurate and appreciative. The author writes “we have no elevations that can be called mountains, and yet no considerable portion of the surface is level” and further that Iowa is made up of “vast prairies possessing a weird sublimity that no pen can describe.” In a state where over 150 days per year are below freezing, the author adds in a thundering understatement that the “the winters are cold.”

Geography & Topography