Above: Cover of an undated book titled "How to be a Man: A Book for Young Men" by W. Nicholson. Inside, the subtitle states: "Comprising directions for being useful and happy, agreeable and respected, successful in business, and honoured through life." It was published by W. Nicholson & Sons of London.
Chapter titles include Behaviour at School, Behaviour at Table, Education of the Body, Reading, Writing, Indolence, On Doing One Thing at a Time, On Finishing What is Begun, Amusements, Governance of the Tongue, Importance of Being Able to Say No, and Profitable Reading.
A much nicer copy of this book (mine is falling apart) is available on AbeBooks for £50.
Above: The inside back cover of the 1955 Grosset & Dunlap hardcover "Tom Swift and His Outpost in Space." This was part of The New Tom Swift Jr. Adventures and was penned by Victor Appleton II.1
I think just about every 10-year-old boy has taken part in a scene similar to this at some time. Usually it involves a cardboard box with some dials drawn on the sides and an active imagination. That's how we journey into outer space. Or back in time. Or to the bottom of the sea.
Footnote
1. According to Wikipedia: "For the Tom Swift Jr. series the books were outlined mostly by Harriet (Stratemeyer) Adams, head of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, attributed to the pseudonymous Victor Appleton II. ... Most of the books were written by James Duncan Lawrence, who had an interest in science and technology and was faithful to the canon of the previous Tom Swift series."
I miss those books with great illustrations on the inside cover and first page. As an adult you don't get that pleasure anymore.
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