Kent's New Commentary: A Manual for Young Men.
Davenport, IA: By the Author, 1880. Hardcover. 12mo. Brown cloth with gilt lettering and decoration and black rules. xvi, 176pp. Tissue-guarded frontispiece. Very good. Quite mild binding edgewear, else tight, bright and near fine. Item #47231
Handsome first edition of this slim how-to by New Hampshirite Charles (1824-1900), who moved to Davenport, Iowa as a young man and spent the rest of his life there as a businessman, with much biographical data interspersed among his advice. Preachy rags-to-riches advice typical of its day, à la "Reading Fiction": "No young man should spend his time in reading fiction, for it is a waste, and he has no time to waste. Every hour he devotes to reading novels is worse than wasted...." Chapters include "How to Deserve Success," "How to Ensure Success," "How Some Men Have Succeeded," "What Brings Happiness," "Indulgence of Appetite," "Happy Homes," "What Shall I Live For?," etc. Printed "Presented to" leaf following copyright page bears inked ownership name. Uncommon and in superb condition.
Price: $75.00