Every Boys Library

[Apache Bob]

I have a copy of "The Cruise of the Dazzler" by Jack London.

In the front of the book is a letter from James E West, with a date of July 31, 1913,(showing the letterhead of the National Headquarters of the Boy Scouts of America) telling the readers about the Every Boy's Library. On the cover of the book is the Boy Scout's logo.

Each year James West's letter states that 25 books approved by the Boy Scouts will be published with the approval of the Boy Scouts.

Do any of you know more about this series?

 

[Stosh]

There are about 60-70 titles that were approved by BSA for quality literature for boys by Matthews, Scout Librarian.

 

These books are of about 3 different types. They all fall under the category of "Every Boys Library". There is another series of non-BSA books that use "Every Boys Library" as well so you need to be careful.

 

One type has BSA on the title page indicating it is authorized by them.

 

Another type has a BSA logo embossed on the binding of the book

 

The third type (most common) has a BSA logo on the binding and a nice large logo on the cover.

 

These books can be gotten in a variety of different conditions off the internet through E-Bay, Craigslist, etc.

 

I have been collecting them for years and have all the common ones, but know of about 10 titles that are more difficult to find or expensive to purchase.

 

The books were of different interests. Some were sports related, "Pitching in a Pinch", Some were scout related "Along the Mohawk Trail" (The book that inspired the likes of Tom Slade Series, Pee Wee Harris Series, Westy Martin Series, Roy Blakeley Series and the Buddy Boy Series. These were penned by Percy Keese Fitzhugh for the BSA. Pee Wee, Westy and Roy all remain part of the Boy's Life tradition in scouting. Other books "Boy Scout Handbook" were great hands-on books, and "Don Strong of the Wolf Patrol" were great to get an idea of how scouting worked 100 years ago. Then there were the adventure books like "Call of the Wild", etc. Some were semi-biographic, "Scouting with Kit Carson". A lot of seafaring adventures like the "Cruise of the Dazzler" and "Three Years Behind the Gun". On E-Bay these books generally run for about $25-$35 each without dust covers. Books like "Ben Hur" will run you a couple of hundreds of dollars.

 

Just look at it as pre-video games. 8^D

 

Tom Slade series (Fitzhugh) is about a boy from a bad part of town, getting the scouting bug, turning into a good kid, going off to serve in WWI and then returning and becoming a SM and finally camp director.

 

Pee Harris series is about the "super scout" Pee Wee and his deductive skills he's learned where he eventually grows up to be a private detective as an adult. He's a member of the Raven Patrol.

 

Westy Martin takes his scouting skills and heads west for great adventures as a young adult.

 

Roy Blakeley of the Silver Fox Patrol always plays on the fun side of scouting and all the adventures that go along with that. Roy's series gives a little insight into the lives of the other boys while they were yet in the scouting program, early in their scouting career.

 

Mark Gilmore is a scout that gets into aviation. (3 book series)

 

These books tended to be great birthday and Christmas gifts for the boys during their scout years.

 

The Fitzhugh series books run anywhere from $5-$15 depending on their condition, but some of the books will run over $100 for the "last one in the series" that aren't as common as the first ones. I felt I got a super deal getting Tom Slades last book (Parachute Jumper) for $75.

 

Stosh

[Eagle92]

Anywhere we can get a list of titles and authors. Curious minds want to knwo.

[Melgamatic]

There is (was?) a Kahuna's Katalog of the Every Boys Library. First printing was in August, 1990. It has 538 pages, detailing every version of every book, so that means there were a lot!

 

I have a nice PDF copy of the KK of EBL, but I have been unable to get permission to freely distribute it, although I've been trying.

 

-Melg

 

[Stosh]

I have a list at home that has the ones I have and know about. I'll post those later this evening when I get access to it.

 

Stosh

 

Here's a few of them, I know of a few more such as "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" by J. Verne and "Ben Hur" There might be a couple more, but not many. I'm thinking there might only be about 75 titles.

 

Elliott Gray, Jr.: A Chronicle of School Life --

by Colton Maynard. 1911, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

Baby Elton, Quarterback -- by Leslie W. Quirk.

1913, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

Tommy Remington's Battle -- by Burton Egbert

Stevenson. 1902, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

Treasure Island -- by Robert Louis Stevenson.

1913, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

The Boy's Book of New Inventions -- by Harry E.

Maule. 1914, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

The Official Handbook for Boys -- by Boy Scouts

of America. 1914 Rev. Ed., Grosset & Dunlap.

 

Cattle Ranch to College; or, The True Tale of a

Boy's Adventures in the Far West -- by Russell

Doubleday. 1899, 1922, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

The Ranche on the Oxhide; A Story of Boys' and

Girls' Life on the Frontier -- by Henry Inman.

Illustrated by Charles Bradford Hudson. 1913,

Grosset & Dunlap.

 

Adventures in Beaver Stream Camp; or, Lost in

the Northern Wilds -- by A. Radclyffe Dugmore.

Illustrated by Philip R. Goodwin. 1918, Grosset

& Dunlap.

 

Pete, Cow-Puncher; or, A Story of the Texas

Plains -- by Joseph Bushnell Ames. Illustrated

by Victor Perard. 1920, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

A Midshipman in the Pacific, His Adventures on

Whaler, Trader and Frigate -- by Cyrus Townshend

Brady. Illustrated by G.A. Williams. 1904,

Grosset & Dunlap.

 

Bartley, Freshman Pitcher -- by Willian

Heyliger. 1911, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

Tom Paulding; or, The Story of a Search for

Buried Treasure in the Streets of New York -- by

Brander Matthews. 1892, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

Yankee Ships and Yankee Sailors: Tales of 1812

-- By James Barnes. Illustrated by Carlton T.

Chapman and R.F. Zogbaum. 1897, 1914, Grosset &

Dunlap.

 

The Quest of the Fish-Dog Skin -- by James

Willard Schults. Illustrated by George Varian.

1913, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

Animal Heroes -- by Ernest Thompson Seton. 1901,

1905, Grosset & Dunlap (originally published by

Scribner's).

 

The Wrecking Master -- by Ralph Delahaye Paine.

Illustrated by George Varian. 1911, Grosset &

Dunlap.

 

For the Honor of the School; or, A Story of

School Life and Interscholastic Sport -- by

Ralph Henry Barbour. Illustrated by C.M. Relyea.

1900, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

Brown Wolf and Other Jack London Stories -- by

Jack London. 1920, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

Scouting with General Funston -- by Everett

Tomlinson. Illustrated by J.E. Allen. 1917,

Grosset & Dunlap.

 

Scouting with Kit Carson -- by Everett T.

Tomlinson. Illustrated by John Frost. 1916,

Grosset & Dunlap.

 

The Cruise of the Dazzler -- by Jack London --

1902, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

Tom Strong, Washington's Scout; or, A Story of

Patriotism -- by Alfred Bishop Mason. 1911,

Grosset & Dunlap.

 

Pitching in a Pinch; or, Baseball from the

Inside -- by Christie Matthewson. 1912, Grosset

& Dunlap.

 

The Last of the Mohicans -- by James Fenimore

Cooper. Illustrated by E. Boyd Smith. 1910,

Grosset & Dunlap.

 

To The Land of Caribou; or, The Adventures of

Four Classmates on a Cruise to Labrador -- by

Paul G. Tomlinson. 1914, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

A Gunner Aboard the Yankee -- by Russell

Doubleday. 1917, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

Scouting with Daniel Boone -- by Everett T.

Tomlinson. Illustrated by Norman Rockwell. 1914,

Grosset & Dunlap.

 

College Years -- by Ralph Delahaye Paine.

Illustrated by Worth Brehm. 1909, Grosset &

Dunlap.

 

The Cruise of the Cachalot Round the World After Sperm Whales -- by Frank Thomas Bullen. 1923, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

Tecumseh's Young Braves; or, A Story of the

Civil War -- by Everret T. Tomlinson. 1896,

Grosset & Dunlap.

 

Boat Building and Boating -- by Daniel Carter Beard. 1911, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

Wells Brothers; or, The Young Cattle Kings -- by Andy Adams. 1911, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

The Half-Back or, A Story of School, Football

and Golf -- by Ralph Henry Barbour. Illustrated

by B. West Clinedinst. 1899, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

Cab and Caboose; or, The Story of a Railroad Boy

-- by Kirk Monroe. 1892, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

The Boy Scouts of Black Eagle Patrol -- by

Leslie W. Quirk. Illustrated by William

Kirkpatrick. 1915, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

Don Strong of the Wolf Patrol -- by William

Heyliger. Illustrated by Norman Rockwell. 1916,

Grosset & Dunlap.

 

Don Strong, Patrol Leader -- by William

Heyliger. Illustrated by Walt Londerback. 1918,

Grosset & Dunlap.

 

3 - Along the Mohawk Trail; or, Boy Scouts on

Lake Champlain -- by Percy Keese Fitzhugh.

Illustrated by Remington Schuyler. 1912, Grosset

& Dunlap.

 

8 - The Boy Scouts of Bob's Hill -- by Charles

Pierce Burton. Illustrated by Gordon Grant.

1912, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

15 - Danny Fists -- by Walter Chauncey Camp.

1913, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

24 - The Horsemen of the Plains: A Story of the

Great Cheyenne War -- by Joseph A. Altsheler.

Illustrated by Charles Livingston Bull. 1910,

1913, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

42 - Under Boy Scout Colors -- by Joseph Bushnel

Ames. Illustrated by Walt Louderback. 1916,

Grosset & Dunlap.

 

43 - Ungava Bob; or, A Winter's Tale -- by

Dillon Wallace. Illustrated by Samuel M. Palmer.

1907, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

44 - Williams of West Point -- by Hugh S.

Johnson. 1908, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

45 - The Wolf Hunters; or, A Story of the

Buffalo Plains -- by George Bird Grinnell,

edited and arranged from the manuscript account

of Robert M. Peck. 1914, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

46 - Be Prepared; or, The Boy Scouts in Florida

-- by A.W. Dimock. 1912, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

48 - Billy Topsail, M.D.; or, A Tale of

Adventure with Doctor Luke of the Labrador -- by

Norman Duncan. 1916, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

58 - Jeb Hutton, the Story of a Georgia Boy --

by James B. Connolly. Illustrated by M.J. Burns.

1902, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

59 - Lone Bull's Mistake, A Lodge Pole Chief

Story -- by James Willard Schultz. Illustrated

by George Varian. 1918, Grosset & Dunlap.

 

64 - Redney McGaw, A Story of the Big Show and

the Cheerful Spirit -- by Arthur E. McFarlane.

Illustrated by Arthur William Brown. 1909,

Grosset & Dunlap.

 

66 - Tecumseh's Young Braves, A Story of the

Creek War -- by Everett Tomlinson. Illustrated

by A. Burnham Shute. 1896, Grosset & Dunlap.

(This message has been edited by jblake47)

[Apache Bob]

Thank you jblake47. I had no idea that it covered that many books or was that large. I just went on Ebay and the Ben Hur book is being sold. The current bid for it was $400.oo.

When did the Boy Scouts stop adding to the Library? It seems like a great idea.

Thanks again.

 

[emb021]

The EBL was big in the early years of the century, when 'boys books' were a big market. I think by the 1930s/40s or so, it had declined and National had stopped putting them out.

 

In addition to the work cited, another source of info is the "collecting Scouting Literature". Some of the scouting collector sites still might have copies of the 2nd (and so far last) edition of this work.

 

 

[shortridge]

If you or your unit librarian would like to build up a library of some of these books today, check out Dover Books (doverpublications.com). They don't have everything on the list, but it'd be a good start. The thrift editions are no-frills reprints of classic fiction and poetry - real bargains when you consider what paperbacks go for today. Last of the Mohicans is $4, Call of the Wild goes for $2, and we're talking just $1.50 for 16 short stories by O. Henry. (I'm not a Dover shill, just a very satisfied customer.)

 

In addition, Dover offers reprints of the 1908 Scouting For Boys and the 1911 first edition of the BSA Handbook ($24.95 and $10.95, respectively) and several Dan Beard books.

 

It also appears that the Tom Slade series is being republished, with an SRP of $14.95: www.nortoncreekpress.com/tom_slade.html

[emb021]

Dover also has reprints of several Seton works.

 

Seton works:

 

Wild Animals I Have Known

Two Little Savage

Sign Talk of the Cheyenne

Art Anatomy of Animals

 

Beard works:

 

American Boys Handy book

Field and Forest Handy Book

Camp-Lore and Woodcraft

Boat-Building and Boating

Shelters, Shacks and Shanties

 

American Girls Handy Book (done by Beard's sisters)

 

Others of interest

 

1911 BSA Handbook

1908 Baden-Powell Scouting for Boys (reprint of the 8 booklet version)

Indian Scout Craft and Lore by charles Eastman

Indian How Book by Arthur Parker

Woodcraft and Camping by George W. Sears Nessmuk

 

http://store.doverpublications.com/summer04.html

[skeptic]

76 Titles, many issued in more than one type. The BSHB was issued numerous times, beginning with the 1914 edition. The first type had the scout symbol in red on the front of the book, but not on the spine. The covers were all more or less khaki colored. There are a number of subtle variants of the symbol and semaphore flags in the background. The second type had the same front design, but also the scout symbol on the spine. Type 3 had an embossed symbol on the spine (hard to see on many of them) and the covers were weird greens, browns, orange and so on; there was no design on the front. Dust jackets were often ornate, especially in the earlier types. That was an ongoing project for Joe Price; finding new versions of jackets that he had not seen. I have a couple that he copied on his machine, so he would have an example. The type 3 jackets were more modern, and less ornate. Books were all printed by Grossett and Dunlap for the BSA. Almost all have the facimile letter in the front from West. According to Joe, there are a few anomolies out there without it that appear to be real, probably printed specially for libraries or something. Another variant is the Seton BIOGRAPHY OF A GRIZZLY. Seton did not want the book issued in the format of the others, so they do not quite fit in with the others.

 

There is a list by Miller out there, if you can find it; and there are also Thorsens museum lists still available. I think you can still buy it from Stevenson on the internet. May be some other sources out there as well. By the way, rumor has it that the Collecting Scouting Literature is to be issued this year in an updated version. I am waiting expectantly, as that is my checklist.

 

By the way, if anyone has a copy of Pete, Cowpuncher at a reasonable price, I would love to buy it. That is the only title I am missing now.

 

Good luck to the new collectors. It has taken me 30+ years to find all the ones I have and stay in the budget.

[bksct]

COLLECTED SCOUT BOOKS A FEW YEARS 35 BEEN A SCOUT 45 YEARS HAVE MR MILLERS EBL ORIGIONAL LIST FORM 1974

OVER TIME EARLY SPECULATION ABOUT EBL'S BECAME THE "FACTS" HAVE MOS VARIATIONS 3 MAIN GROUPS AND THREE MAIN TYPE OF DUST JACKETS. SOME OF THE BOOKS LISTED IN ADVERTISEMENTS ETC WERE IN FACT NOT PUBLISHED. SOME THOUGHT NOT TO HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED DO EXIST. hAVING WORKED WITH "KAHUA" JOE PRECE FOR YEARS GOD REST HIS SOLE. HIS REFERENCES WERE TO BE UPDATED AS HE PASSED IF IT EXISTED WE SAW IT COMPARED IT HAVE IT OR A PICTURE OF IT. THE MOST DIFFICULT AND COASTLY PROJECT IS A GOOD REFERENCE COLLECTION. tHE BEST WAY FOR YOU TO LEARN IS TO USE EBAY READ BUY OR BID DON'T FALL FOR THE RARE WORD RARE AT 50 DOLLARS? NOT TO RARE! SAVE THE DATA AND PICTURES MOST INPORTANT DON'T FORGET TO LINK THE PHOTOS WHEN YOU SAVE THE DATA OR YOU WILL BE WAISTING YOUR TIME. NOE CALL ME AT 650-952-9624 OR 650-888-4942 MOST ANY TIME AND I'LL SQUARE YOU AWAY AS I HAVE MOST ALL AND THE VARIATIONS. ASK ABOUT COPYWRIGHT USE OF INFORMATION PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE. ////THIS IS NOT A SALES PITCH NOR WAS IT MENT TO BE. WAT AM I THINKING? "WHAT WAS i THINKING? EMAIL LMANSS@AOL.COM NOT THE BET METHOD FOR ME AND PROBABLY FOR YOU iF YOUR IN THE ARE OR ARE GOING TO BE IN MY AREA LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT TO GGT LOST IN A SCOUT LIBRARY IF YOU WANT TO TAKE IT IN PLAN FOR DAYS AAS IT WILL TAKE YOU AT LEAST A DAY JUST TO SCAN THE SHELVES AS YOU OPEN A BOOK TIME "FLIES EAGL ETC ETC ARE YOU CONFUSED JUST CALL FRED

[eblcollector]

Wanted to post a helpful update for those who are interested in collecting more of these books -- there is a full list of the EBL series on the below website. It has pictures of all the hardcovers, a full list of titles, many scans of the dust jackets -- and most importantly has a guide for purchase with color scans of all editions of the Every Boy's Library BSA Books! Highly recommended for all collectors:

http://everyboyslibrary.wix.com/everyboyslibrary

 

[skeptic]

Thanks for posting this; am ordering just to add to my related material from other sources.

[TAHAWK]

I came across Tom Slade on a Transport and The Boy Scouts of the Eagle Patrol. Reading those books got me interested in the Boy Scouts and motivated me to pester my Mom until she drove me to the Jamboree in 1953 and dropped me off for the day (another age). I was crushed to learn I was almost a year too young to join. Being a kid, I had forgotten Scouts when my neighbor came over to recruit me the following Summer. Many of these books are now available on line. Example: https://archive.org/details/boyscoutsofeagle00pays OR http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12112

[Stosh]

I have the complete library of Percy Reese Fitzhugh. Tom Slade, Roy Blakeley, Pee Wee Harris, Westy Martin, Mark Gilmore, and all the Buddy Boy singles. I even have the serial version of one of Pee Wee Harris "books" that never went to print, but was published over 4 issues of Boy's Life (WARRIOR BOLD) back in the 20's and 30's. Even as an adult, I have totally enjoyed the books! They go a long way to describe Scouting as it originally designed, not what it has become today.

 

For the old timers out there the comic strip in Boy's Life on the back page was Pee Wee and Roy. For a long time Fitzhugh's legacy lived on even though most of us at the time were unaware of it.

 

The EBL book, ALONG THE MOHAWK TRAIL, written by Fitzhugh was the book that inspired the early BSA movement to commission the other series that Fitzhugh produced over the next 20+ years.

 

If anyone wishes to learn about boy-led, patrol-method and putting scout requirement skills to good practice, these are the books to read.

 

Stosh