Boy Scouts of America

First printing of this early guide to Boy Scout skills and values, published only a year after the US branch of the organization was founded. 

• Edited by William D. Murray, George D. Pratt and A. A. Jameson (American).
• Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1911.
• xiv, 404 pages including index, [28] pages of ads to rear.
• Illustrated in black and white.
• Inscription to front flyleaf "To / Elvin S. Smyrl, / of the / Straw School, / for his / excellent paper on / "Health," / June 20 1912." Small bookseller's label to rear flyleaf, "Goodman's Book Store, Manchester, N. H."
• Bound in original green pictorial cloth boards.

From animal identification, to Morse Code, first aid and advice on being a patriotic American, this handbook provides not only outdoor skills, but a window into the priorities of the Boy Scouts immediately after their establishment in the US. While some of the material was adapted directly from Seton and Baden-Powell's original scouting handbook, a great deal of new information and standards were added for the American handbook, including the so-called religious principle in Scout Law. "No one can doubt that with such training added to his native gifts, the American boy will in the near future, as a man, be an efficient leader in the paths of civilization and peace," note the editors in the preface.

The handbook, intended to be carried on camping trips and in other vigorous Boy Scout activities, is frequently found literally worn to pieces. While a "temporary" 1910 BSA version of the UK handbook precedes, this is the first edition with material specifically for US scouting. This copy is unusual in its remarkably intact condition; it is clear that, although its owner used it, he took care not to abuse it. A handsome document from the dawn of scouting in the States.