Aids to scouting for N.-C.Os. & Men by Bt.-Colonel R S S Baden-Powell. FRGS, 5th Dragoon Guards. Gale & Polden's military series

London: Gale & Polden, Ltd, 1899. 1st Edition. Soft cover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Soft cover. 16mo. 16mo (105 x 93 mm). [2], x, [11]-138, [4] pp., including initial and final printed red advert leaf bound as endpapers, one text diagram on p. 88. Original publisher's printed red soft cloth, red endpapers (covers a bit soiled and creased at corners, edges slightly frayed, first flyleaf clipped and this repaired). Text somewhat age-toned with rare marginal spotting or finger-soiling, but generally clean. Provenance: J.L. Campbell (inscribed and signed on dedication leaf verso). ----

FIRST EDITION, AND OF EXCEPTIONAL RARITY. With the text "The Corrected Proofs of this Book accompanied the last Despatches that got through the Boer Lines" and "Entered at Stationers Hall." / "Copyright No. 29,112" printed on title verso.
"In 1899 while serving in the 2nd Boer War, Robert Baden-Powell penned his sixth military book, Aids To Scouting. It was a non-typical training manual filled with personal stories of intrigue and even games. Its goal was to encourage the development of light reconnaissance scouting skills within the British Army. The book was well received by various armies of its time, including the French Army. His successful defense of Mafeking (1899-1900) in South Africa made Baden-Powell a well-known national hero in Britain. But what completely surprised Baden-Powell was that his book was eagerly taken up by teachers and youth groups to help organize outdoor activities and sport. He eventually embraced the idea of adapting his work into a new youth-oriented book, Scouting for Boys (1908) which went on to sell approx. 150 million copies to date. It was that follow-on book that firmly launched the international Boy Scouts movement. Aids to Scouting contains sections on the characters of a scout, as well as practical advice on observation, stealth/camouflage, map reading, sketching, tracking, reporting and care of horses. It presents these topics is a simple conversational style that makes it easy to read, and is illustrated with personal anecdotes of military adventures by the author. It gives scholars clear insights into his mindset and beliefs that served him well in the siege of Mafeking and shows a clear lineage to the formation of the tenets of his formation of the Boy Scouts. Anyone interested in the history of Boy Scouting will definitely want to read this interesting and formative book" (foreword by Loose Cannon to the 2015 eBook edition of the 1915 edition). - Visit our website to see more images!