Aids to Scouting for N.C.O.s & Men.
London: Gale & Polden, 1915. 1/2 cloth. Revised and englarged edition. Small 12.5 x 9cm, [2 blank], x, 180pp, fold out diagrams. Rebound, half red buckram with decorative paper boards, with disbound original boards loosely inserted.
Minor lean to spine, a shade off sharp corners, some soiling to edges of text block. Original boards in poor condition, staples in covers, heavy soiling and discolouration from previous tape repair. Internally Very Good. New eps, pencil drawing and handwriting on ffep (fleur-de-lis followed by “1st Yeppoon Troup of Boy Scouts” and motto “be prepared” written inside drawing of ribbon), 1.5cm piece of Sellotape on first two endpapers, staple holes to first three pages, discolouration from tape on back page and folding diagrams, light foxing throughout. Very good. Item #389
Sir Baden-Powell (1857 - 1941) was a British Army officer who is widely acknowledged as responsible for the Scout movement following a scouting camp that he ran in 1907 and the publication of his first book, Scouting for Boys in 1908. Aids to Scouting for N.C.Os & Men was first published in 1899 as a military book noting the importance of knowledge in scouting to army officers. The first sentence of the first edition read, “The importance of scouting and reconnaissance cannot be overrated, although it is as yet, only partially recognised in our army.” In this revised edition, a line has been struck through the second part of that sentence and a footnote added that reads, “I am glad to delete the last part of this sentence as it stood in the first edition of the book”. This indicates a significant shift in army attitudes towards scouting in the sixteen years between the first and revised edition. A valuable resource for those interested in scouting, military history and the connection between the two disciplines.
Price: $495.00