The latest of our proofreading projects to reach completion is How to Make Electrical Machines, volume 64 in Frank Tousey’s Ten Cent Hand Book series. This series claims to teach its readers about “almost every subject” in 64-page installments sold for a dime each.
As with many of its series mates, How to Make Electrical Machines seems to have been cobbled together from multiple sources, having a rather uneven tone, and it is questionable exactly how many of its youthful readers actually managed to assemble their own working dynamos or other devices using the dense instructions provided within. In spite of many shortcomings as an instructional manual, however, this is a fascinating look at the early days of electricity, when simple electrical mechanisms could be used as wondrous magic tricks, and a publisher didn’t think twice about providing children with instructions on how to shock themselves (or, for that matter, encouraging them to do so).
The entire book can be read online or downloaded in a variety of popular eBook formats through Project Gutenberg.