Historical Student’s Manual 1878 + Prince of Wales Book 1921. These two books are titled “The Historical Student’s Manual” and “The Prince of Wales Book”. “The Historical Student’s Manual” was written by Alfred Waites and published by Lee & Shepherd in Boston and by Charles T. Dillingham in New York in 1878, with a copyright date of 1877. The book shows the duration of the reigns of the English, French, and German monarchs from the time of William the Conqueror to the present time - the 1870’s, and it includes the term of the Popes in the Vatican as well. The book has maroon boards with black lettering on the front and rear covers, pale yellow endpapers with an armorial Hoar bookplate, the title page, a sort of one-page user’s guide, six pages of text in black and red letters, and one leaf at the end which cites the sources (“Authorities”) used in creating this book, and it’s a neat cheat sheet or guide to show who was running the show in these countries in prior times. The book measures 10 3/8 x 7 3/8 in. wide and is in very good condition, with a tight binding and clean pages and text. There’s light offset from the bookplate and light wear at the heel and crown and at the tips, light wear along the top of the rear board, bumps on the top tips, and some faint marks on the back cover and that’s it. The book has survived really well from 1878 till now. There are no copies of the book listed on the rare book website we use, only modern reprints, and they start at $25, so this is a bargain for the real deal - it is not a copy, but the real thing - and a great gift for someone who wants to see who ran the countries way back when, and a great prep for a test. It also goes well with the Prince of Wales book because that book is about the English monarchy too. The full title of the second book is “The Prince of Wales Book, A Pictorial Record of the Voyages of H.M.S. ‘Renown’ 1919 - 1920”, it was published for St. Dunstan’s by Hodder & Stoughton, Ltd. in London, New York, and Toronto, and engraved and printed in photogravure in Great Britain by the Sun Engraving Company in London & Watford, and a page with the facsimile signature of Edward P. says the proceeds from the book will be used to help British sailors and soldiers who were blinded in the Great War (World War I). Edward P. was the Prince of Wales, the eldest son of King George V, and was known to his family as “David”. He was a popular prince who toured Britain and the empire, was fond of golf, tennis, parties and dancing, and he wanted to serve in the First World War, but was kept away from the front line lest he be killed, or worse, captured. His parents were upset by his refusing to marry and settle down. When the Prince’s eyes fell on a twice-divorced American, Mrs Wallis Simpson, constitutional problems arose: the prince had to decide between Mrs Simpson and the Crown, which passed to him in 1936 on the death of his father George V. He inherited the crown and as King Edward VIII, he became the only British sovereign to resign the throne of his own will. He abdicated the throne in 1936 in order to marry Wallis Simpson, and he became known as the Duke of Windsor after that.; he would have been King of England if he didn’t abdicate. The book has red boards with black letters and an image of the royal feathers of the Prince of Wales on the front cover, endpapers decorated with the royal feathers and an inscription on the front flyleaf that reads Lee H. McCray June 1921”, a half-title, then a page which reads in pencil “Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David”, which was the name the Prince received at his baptism in 1894, then a frontis photograph of the young prince as “Edward P.”, the title page, the printers information on the next page, the facsimile letter and signature of Edward P. encouraging people to buy the book to raise money for blind sailors and soldiers, a two-page Preface by the Prince, and the text and photographs which are unpaginated - they are unnumbered - and the book shows him on tour in Canada, England, the United States, and Australia, and the book is undated, but had to published before the inscription date of 1921 in the front, and WorldCat. says the first edition was published in 1921, so this may well be a first edition. The book measures 9 7/8 x 7 1/4 in. wide and is in good condition. The binding is tight and the pages and text are clean, as are the photographs, with light wear at the heel and crown of the spine, light rubbing and light wear at the tips, and faint brown spots on the front flyleaf. #198.5 #1571