The Holiday Book by Francis C. Woodworth

Hardcover. Condition: Good. 1857. Clark, Austin, & Smith publishers.

A scarce, small book 5in x 4in

First published 1851, Francis Woodworth, editor of Woodworth’s Youth’s Cabinet, wrote several books as “Theodore Thinker.” Inside he praises "anonomously" his magazine in this collection of stories, puzzles, and generic woodcuts. “Synergy” isn’t a new idea: 19th-century American entrepeneurs knew how to advertise their wares in every possible medium. (P. T. Barnum was an expert.)

While the author informs readers that the book was to read “during your holidays,” that doesn’t mean that readers could relax completely. The riddles and puzzles were intended for play; but the stories carry the usual morals found in Woodworth’s works for children: obedience and temperance, charity and rational thought