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Every Boy's Library (Boy Scouts of America Edition)

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Every Boy's Library (Boy Scouts of America Edition)
The Half Back by Ralph Henry Barbour

Edited byBoy Scouts of America
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
PublisherGrosset & Dunlap
PublishedNovember 1912 to mid-1930s
Media typePrint
No. of books73

The Every Boy's Library: Boy Scout Edition refers to a collection of 73 books that were published under the backing of the Boy Scouts of America. Every title was selected by the Scouts Library Commission, and were branded towards Scouts and included themes that would be of interest to young boys in the Scouting movement.[1] These re-released many classic novels as well as newer works by those associated with the Scouting movement, include Ernest Thompson Seton and Daniel Carter Beard. This series of reprints was published by Grosset & Dunlap from November 1912 with reprints and editions lasting until the mid-1930s. Each edition includes a letter "To The Public" by then Chief Scout Executive James E. West. 30 original works were commissioned, as referenced by the original list in the back page of each edition.

Background

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November 1913 Every Boy's Library Advertisement of the Series in Boy's Life

In the early 1900s, cheap novels were flooding the market with often content was as of low quality. These were known as "Nickel Novels" or "Dime Novels" based on the price of these books. Some of these books were aimed at children and youth and some parents were concerned that this would corrupt the minds of their children. This was a view shared by leaders of the Boy Scouts of America as shared in the Fourth Annual Report of the Boy Scouts of America 1913. According to Franklin K. Mathiews, Chief Scout Librarian, Judge Ben B. Lindsey had judged a case involving a gang of boys. Hundreds of "cheap juveniles" (cheap books for the youth) were found in their possession and which corrupted them. In addition, the popularity of Scouting was noticed by authors and publishers who published numerous books with Scouts as characters, and judged of poor by Boy Scouts of America.[2]

In response to this, a Library Commission was formed within the organization. It initially was made up of:

  • George F. Bowerman, Librarian at the Public Library in Washington, D.C.
  • Harrison W. Craver, Librarian at Carnegie library in Pittsburgh, PA
  • Claude G. Leland, Superintendent at the Bureau of Libraries for the New York City Board of Education
  • Edward P. Stevens, Librarian at the Pratt Institute's Free Library in Brooklyn, NY
  • Franklin K. Mathiews, Chief Scout Librarian and Secretary
  • The Editorial Board of the Boy Scouts of America: William D. Murray, George D. Pratt, and Frank Presbrey.[3][2]

The collection would only contain books that "are of interest to boys". The first 25 volumes would be "works of fiction or stirring stories of adventurous experiences" while later ones may contain more serious material. These books were reprints of popular books previously sold for $1.00 to $1.50. With the assistance of the various original publishers, the Boy Scouts of America was able to reprint these works for 50 cents a volume. Merchandising was handled by Grosset and was widely distributed. It was well received by librarians, public school teachers, authors, publishers and booksellers. The first books were placed on sale in November 1912 and 71,000 were sold in only six weeks.[2]

In parallel to the publication of this new collection, Boy Scouts of America offered a recommendation service for parents who struggled to find quality books for their boys. It was announced by Boy Scouts of America and shared in the pages of Ladies' Home Journal, Woman's Home Companion and The Delineator that if parents sent a letter to the Boy Scouts of America National Headquarters with "descriptions of their boys-age, interests, temperament, attainments, moral qualifications, faults or delinquencies giving some idea of how the boys are inclined to spend their leisure time and the characteristics of the boys with whom they like best to associate" "a course of reading would be prescribed" by the Consulting Book Physician containing quality books.[2]

State Library Commissions in Wisconsin, Indiana, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey were very interested in the work of this Commission. It was believed that this reading list could be used by public libraries and public schools as the best books for boys.[2]

The work of the Library Commission in their selection of the Every Boy's Library books can be seen in the following paragraph on page 64 of the Report:
While the boy is growing rapidly in brain and body that is the time to give him the stories in which heroes have the characteristics the boy so much admires-men of unquenchable courage, immense resourcefulness, absolute fidelity, conspicuous greatness; the men who do things, big things, wonderful things; the men who conquer and overcome in the face of the heaviest odds, who never turn their back but march breast forward "to do or die." For the boys, that spirit is the stuff of which great manhood is made; and, if with books we would profoundly influence him, we must constantly challenge him with stories of astonishing accomplishments, biographies that hold him spellbound, wonder tales of almost unattainable undertakings achieved.[2]

With this in mind, hundreds of such books were selected to be first published in the Handbook for Boys and provided later to libraries across America for a nominal sum. The Commission also wished to work with Sunday School libraries and with "welfare workers" working with the "juvenile criminal class".[2]

On July 31st, 1913, James E. West, Chief Scout Executive issued a letter to the public announcing the collection. It explained the goal of the collection and thanked the publishers and the Commission for their work in making this collection a reality. It was reprinted in Library Journals[4] and can be found in some copies of the collection.[5]

Price would not remain at 50 cents a volume but would slowly increase. It was listed at 75 cents in 1917.[6] It would reach $1.00 by 1920.[7]

Finish

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An early cover featured seen in some ads shows two Scouts in uniform reading books with a pile of books between them. Above was the Every Boy's Library/Boy Scout Edition with the fleur-de-lis with the Flag of the United States on its right and a Patrol flag on its left.[3]

Later, the books featured an olive-green, linen fabric hard cover and bore a seal red and black fleur-de-lis Boy Scout emblem over two crossed signal flags, with the title at the top and the author on the bottom. Some works included an original dust jacket, however, intact copies are increasingly rare. There are also several versions that do not display a BSA seal, but rather have different colored hardcovers with or without an embossed seal on the spine. The series was sold as a fundraiser for the BSA and were sold for fifty cents each.[8]

Book List

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The following books were in the collection:

Collecting

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Updated texts are available outlining the complete collection, however Boy Scout collectors frequently reference the rare Kahunas Katalog of the Every Boy's Library – privately published by Joseph Pratt Price, Jr. in 1990. This 538-page scholarly work of investigative bibliographical research provides extensive notes and detailed explanations of variations, printings and editions of all 73 titles in the series. It includes an explanation of the history of the series originally intended as a method of fund raising by the Boy Scouts of America. This work also includes a guide for estimating values of the books in this series, however it has remained elusive as many Boy Scout collectors refuse to share or assimilate the copyrighted work. They are currently valued on average at ten dollars to most collectors.[15]

In 2014, was published The Every Boy's Library Collector's Guide: A Reference for Boy Scouts of America Memorabilia by Michael Fazzino.[16]

References

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  1. ^ "Be Prepared With These Books". Abe Books. Archived from the original on 22 July 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Annual Report of the Boy Scouts of America - 1913 - pages 61 to 65
  3. ^ a b Boy's Life - November 1913 issue - Page 37 - https://books.google.com/books?id=9TiF8ouBhZMC&pg=PP1
  4. ^ A Selected List of Books - Ontario Department of Education - 1913 - page 45 https://books.google.com/books?id=YMWFcekpw1YC
  5. ^ Animal Heroes - https://books.google.com/books?id=P_dMAAAAMAAJ
  6. ^ The Publishers' Trade List Annual - A List of the Publications of Grosset & Dunlap 1917-1918- page 19
  7. ^ The Official Handbook for Boys - Appendix page 459 - https://books.google.com/books?id=i8EZAAAAYAAJ
  8. ^ "EVERY BOY'S LIBRARY: BOY SCOUT EDITIONS". umkc.edu.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah The Every Boy's Library Collection - Gradeditors - https://gradeditors.wixsite.com/everyboyslibrary/about
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap The Epworth Era Volume 27 - Methodist Episcopal Church - April 1921 - page 431 - https://books.google.com/books?id=v2YzAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA431
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am Tom Slade at Temple Camp - Grosset & Dunlap - 1917 - page 213 - https://books.google.com/books?id=9UwCAAAAYAAJ
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao The Official Handbook for Boys - 1917 - Boy Scouts of America - Appendix page 459-460 https://books.google.com/books?id=vL3xAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA459
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak The Official Handbook for Boys - 1920 - Boy Scouts of America - Appendix page 460-461 https://books.google.com/books?id=i8EZAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA459
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x The Companion for All the Family - October 19, 1916 - Premium Number 105 - page 597 - https://books.google.com/books?id=w8tPAQAAMAAJ
  15. ^ "BOOKS ABOUT SCOUTING BOOKS | A Selective Bibliography". Foundling Books. Archived from the original on 2010-02-09. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  16. ^ The Every Boy's Library Collector's Guide: A Reference for Boy Scouts of America Memorabilia - https://www.amazon.com/Every-Boys-Library-Collectors-Guide/dp/1547071923
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