The success of Harper’s Outdoor Book for Boys seems to insure a welcome for an indoor handy book, equally practical and comprehensive, which shall show how leisure time indoors can be spent most pleasantly and profitably. When stress of weather, or the coming of long winter evenings, or any other reason gives the indoor part of life a larger importance, this indoor handy book will be found an invaluable companion. Good books and good games have their value always, but there is also a large place for the joy of actual accomplishment. It is good to do things. It is worth while to learn to use hands and eyes in the production of working results. And when, as in the case of the explanation of this book, achievement goes hand in hand with amusement, it is clear that Mr. Adams and his associates are the best of companions for an indoor day or evening.
Expensive tools and apparatus are not called for. A boy should have good but not necessarily costly tools, and he should take proper care of them. Furthermore, whether his working-place is in his room or elsewhere, he should feel that he is put upon his honor to remove any rubbish and to avoid injury to floor or walls. Let us understand at the outset that the explanation in these pages can be followed at very little expense, but in this work, as in everything else, common-sense is necessary. To use one tool for work to which another is adapted, or to neglect one’s implements, or allow them to get wet and to rust or to become hopelessly dulled or nicked, is a sign of shiftlessness. A good workman always takes care of his tools, and he also keeps his work-bench in order. The very mention of work in a boy’s room, or even indoors, may excite fears of disorder on the part of the mother; but experience has shown that with care on the part of the boy, and some concessions from the mother, these fears are groundless.
It is desirable that a boy should have a place, whether it be in the cellar or attic, or a corner of his room, definitely devoted to his own work. It is also a useful training for him to feel that he is put upon honor both to confine his work to his own bounds, and also to “tidy up” whenever he leaves his task. With a little patience and oversight all this can be adjusted to the mutual satisfaction of the household and the boy.
In addition to the training in various directions which we have indicated, the suggestions in these pages will help the boy to make things which are useful—to become a contributor to his home. A glance at the Table of Contents shows, under “Wood-working,” an introduction to the use of carpenters’ tools, and instructions in making picture-frames and ornamented wood-carving. Of late years ornamental work for lamps, sconces, hinges, and a variety of purposes has steadily grown in favor, and the second division of the book tells how a great variety of decorative and useful objects in metal may be made. When so much experience has been gained, the boy can readily take up more advanced work, such as modelling in clay, and plaster casting; bookbinding, and the kindred craft of extra-illustration; pyrography, or decorative work in burnt wood; printing, stamping, and embossing; and the construction and use of the stereopticon. In Part IV. the young craftsman is shown how he may employ the technical knowledge he has acquired in the fitting up and decoration of his room; in the building and operating of a miniature theatre; in the installation of a home gymnasium; and in the making of various objects of ornament and utility for the household. Amateur photography has been purposely omitted, since there are many excellent and practical manuals on the subject that have been published by the various camera manufacturers for gratuitous distribution. It is easy to see the possibilities for usefulness, for beauty, and for amusement in the home, which are brought within reach in these pages; and these instructions also represent possibilities for earning money. In, schools where manual training receives attention, and, indeed, in any school library, this book will prove peculiarly useful.
Here, as in the Outdoor Handy Book, it has been kept in mind that there will be neither fun nor profit in doing these things unless the way is made clear, and it is certain that the desired results will follow if the directions are carried out. Everything, therefore, has been tested, and all the instructions are put in simple, practical form. It is a friendly, well-tried, and reliable household companion that comes to young Americans in Harper’s Indoor Book for Boys.