It Seemed Like Good Advice at the Time
Categories: Rediscoveries , Staff Picks , Nonfiction
“Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't.” Erica Jong
I'm not very interested in current-day self-help books, but I love old ones. There is nothing like immersing yourself in the aphorisms and advice of the first half of the twentieth century to give yourself a feeling of the utter strangeness of a familiar culture.
We recently got a book that sent me down that road again. How to be Popular is a collection of short excerpts from self-help books and articles for teens on the subject of popularity. These are drawn from books and magazines, mostly from the 1960's and 70's, with art from the same time period. A classic quote from this title is "Take a good look at those who are popular. Where do they go? What do they do? Try to be like them."
Reading this book inspired me to pull out a few even older titles to have a look at teen advice in books from 1900 to 1960. Here are a few gems (and where to find them):
"Blessed is the Girl whose mind is not occupied with the impression she is making, who exacts little, and is grateful for every attention, while asking no favors..."
Winsome Womanhood 1900
"Any woman interested in preserving a youthful appearance should exercise her wrists to keep them supple."
Charm 1928, rev. 1934
"Unnecessary exposure of one's body, as when dressed in play suits and sun suits is disgusting to boys, as it is to everyone else."
Strictly Confidential (for young girls) 1944
"That it is not well-bred to comb bobbed hair in any public place, not excepting a cafe, seems unknown to some girls and should be stressed."
On Being a Girl 1935
And finally, my favorite from among the bunch, a question and answer excerpt from Girls Friendship Book (1930):
"What should a girl do if a strange man occupies the same seat next to her in the train and keeps moving nearer to her?
This is an indication that the man has "diseased affections" and you should change your seat at once. If this is not possible, speak to some motherly woman about it..."
A note to interested readers: Strangely enough, if you're looking for older self-help titles, searching self-help as a subject won't give you much. Prior to 1980, many self-improvement and advice books fell into a more general subject called "Conduct of Life", so if you're interested in searching for older materials, try that instead.
