ORIGINAL EDITION HANDBOOKS

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Printing: 68,000 Copies / Pages: 400
Cover Art: Adapted From Robert Baden-Powell
Authors: Ernest Thompson Seton and Robert S. S. Baden-Powell

Before the first custom written Handbook for Boys appeared in 1911, a stop-gap manual was quickly assembled by Ernest Thompson Seton and published in July 1910, just five months after the BSA was born.

Seton borrowed material from his own Birchbark Roll, the manual for his Woodcraft Indians; and from Scouting for Boys, by Robert S. S. Baden-Powell, the English founder of the worldwide Scouting movement.  The cover art was adapted from Scouting for Boys with the substitution of an American flag for the Union Jack.

Despite its short life, the 1910 manual, which included information for both adult leaders and boys, actually had several different covers. The first, with the title Official Handbook, credited Seton and Baden-Powell as co-authors. Other versions showed the book's title as Official Manual. And after Seton was named Chief Scout of the BSA, a new cover listed only one author: Ernest Thompson Seton, Chief Scout.  After Seaton ended his association with BSA, he re-issued his handbook as The Forester's Manual.

The 1910 handbook sold for 25 cents.
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