The single tax

Search Browse About

Items Collections Divisions

Digital Collections Using Images Using Data

About Filters

Collection History

This scrapbook assembles photographs, caricatures and a few newspaper articles from the last third of the nineteenth century, about American economic reformer Henry George (1839-1897). The provenance of the scrapbook content is unclear: the volume itself is an NYPL-creation, and bears a binding date of 1936, a decade later than the Henry George collection inventory cited below in "Related Resources."

Background

George's significance is explained in the finding aid for the collection of Henry George papers in the Manuscripts and Archives Division: "In an 1871 pamphlet, Our Land and Land Policy, [George] first set out his theory of rent as the primary cause of monopoly and poverty, and advocated a single tax on land. Between 1877 and 1879, he pursued work on a major treatise, his masterpiece, Progress and Poverty. After failing to find a publisher, George brought out five hundred copies on his own. The publisher Appleton then reprinted the plates, and the book soon became a sensation, translated into many languages and assured George's fame. At the heart of his oft-repeated critique of Gilded Age capitalism was the conviction that rent and private land-ownership violated the hallowed principles of Jeffersonian democracy and that poverty was an affront to the moral values of Judeo-Christian culture."

Though George died relatively young, never authored another major treatise, and never held elected office, his ideas eventually led to reform legislation in parts of the United States, Canada, Australia, and Western Europe.

Related Resources

Barker, C. A. Henry George. (1955)

George, Henry, Jr. The Life of Henry George. (1911)

"Henry George Exhibition," Bulletin of The New York Public Library 31 (1927): 899-903.

NYPL. "Henry George Papers, 1840s-1950: Finding aid." [n.d.] <http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/rbk/faids/george.html>

Sawyer, Rollin Alger, "Henry George and the Single Tax: A List of References to Material in The New York Public Library," Bulletin of The New York Public Library 30 (1926): 481-503 et seq.

Silagi, Michael. Henry George and Europe: the Far-reaching Impact and Effect of the Ideas of the American Social Philosopher. (c2000) The George studies program; v.4.

Wenzer, Kenneth C. and Thomas R. West. The Forgotten Legacy of Henry George: Essays. (c2000)

Collection Data

Description: This scrapbook assembles photographs, caricatures and a few newspaper articles from the last third of the nineteenth century, about American economic reformer Henry George (1839-1897).
Dates / Origin: Date Created: 1865 - 1899 (Approximate)
Library locations: General Research Division; Shelf locator: TIQB + n.c.12
Topics: Single tax; George, Henry, 1839-1897
Genres: Portraits; Prints; Photographs; Clippings; Scrapbooks
Notes: Biographical/historical: In an 1871 pamphlet, Our Land and Land Policy, Henry George first set out his theory of rent as the primary cause of monopoly and poverty, and advocated a single tax on land. Between 1877 and 1879, he pursued work on a major treatise, his masterpiece, Progress and Poverty. After failing to find a publisher, George brought out five hundred copies on his own. The publisher Appleton then reprinted the plates, and the book soon became a sensation, translated into many languages and assured George's fame. At the heart of his oft-repeated critique of Gilded Age capitalism was the conviction that rent and private land-ownership violated the hallowed principles of Jeffersonian democracy and that poverty was an affront to the moral values of Judeo-Christian culture." Though George died relatively young, never authored another major treatise, and never held elected office, his ideas eventually led to reform legislation in parts of the United States, Canada, Australia, and Western Europe.; Content: COLLECTION HISTORY: This scrapbook assembles photographs, caricatures and a few newspaper articles from the last third of the nineteenth century, about American economic reformer Henry George (1839-1897). The provenance of the scrapbook content is unclear: the volume itself is an NYPL-creation, and bears a binding date of 1936, a decade later than the Henry George collection inventory cited below in "Related Resources." (Source: NYPL Digital Gallery); Biographical/historical: BACKGROUND: George's significance is explained in the finding aid for the collection of Henry George papers in the Manuscripts and Archives Division: "In an 1871 pamphlet, _Our Land and Land Policy_, [George] first set out his theory of rent as the primary cause of monopoly and poverty, and advocated a single tax on land. Between 1877 and 1879, he pursued work on a major treatise, his masterpiece, _Progress and Poverty_. After failing to find a publisher, George brought out five hundred copies on his own. The publisher Appleton then reprinted the plates, and the book soon became a sensation, translated into many languages and assured George's fame. At the heart of his oft-repeated critique of Gilded Age capitalism was the conviction that rent and private land-ownership violated the hallowed principles of Jeffersonian democracy and that poverty was an affront to the moral values of Judeo-Christian culture." Though George died relatively young, never authored another major treatise, and never held elected office, his ideas eventually led to reform legislation in parts of the United States, Canada, Australia, and Western Europe. (Source: NYPL Digital Gallery); Citation/reference: RELATED RESOURCES: Barker, C. A. _Henry George_. (1955); George, Henry, Jr. _The Life of Henry George_. (1911); "Henry George Exhibition," _Bulletin of The New York Public Library_ 31 (1927): 899-903; NYPL. "Henry George Papers, 1840s-1950: Finding aid." [n.d.] ‹http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/rbk/faids/george.html›; Sawyer, Rollin Alger, "Henry George and the Single Tax: A List of References to Material in The New York Public Library," _Bulletin of The New York Public Library_ 30 (1926): 481-503 et seq; Silagi, Michael. _Henry George and Europe: the Far-reaching Impact and Effect of the Ideas of the American Social Philosopher_. (c2000) The George studies program; v.4; Wenzer, Kenneth C. and Thomas R. West. _The Forgotten Legacy of Henry George: Essays_. (c2000) (Source: NYPL Digital Gallery)
Physical Description: Extent: 137 p. : ill. ; 31 cm.
Type of Resource: Still image
Identifiers: NYPL Digital Gallery Description: 496255; Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 40084530-c6ca-012f-3561-58d385a7bc34