Precious Guidance

Elements of Style

Posted by Alfred Armstrong

Sat, 04/25/2009 - 17:32

Illustrated Hair with Fashion and Makeup Tips

Author(s):

Unknown. Illustrated by Kenichi Imayoshi

Publisher:

Dowa Planning, Inc. Japan.

Edition / Year:

198?

It would be unfair for me to poke fun at the hairstyles of the 1980s. As one whose then-abundant mop was frequently shaped into ludicrous forms in a vain attempt to be fashionable, I am as guilty as anyone in this respect. However, this book, meant to inspire visitors to hair and beauty parlors with illustrations of the multifarious crimes that could be committed on their persons, provides amusement not only through its pictorial content but its text as well.

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How to Live with a Bitch

Posted by Alfred Armstrong

Sun, 04/05/2009 - 17:19

Author(s):

George Leonard Herter

Publisher:

The Author

Edition / Year:

1971

How to Live with a Bitch What a title, eh? Sadly it isn't quite the full-on male chauvinist rant one might hope for: rather, Herter comes across as a cranky old geezer, possessed of numerous largely reactionary opinions which he unfortunately feels driven to express.

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What to Talk About

Posted by Alfred Armstrong

Sat, 01/19/2008 - 17:59

Author(s):

Imogene B. Wolcott (Mrs Roger Wolcott)

Publisher:

Putnams, NY

Edition / Year:

1923

What to Talk About. The Clever Question

(Thanks must go to my most excellent correspondent Nancy Beiman for steering me to this submerged wreck).

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The Attractive Child

Posted by Alfred Armstrong

Sat, 01/19/2008 - 17:59

Author(s):

Constance J Foster

Publisher:

Julian Messner, Inc

Edition / Year:

1941

The Attractive Child, by Constance J Foster

The fashions of the past, whether of dress or of thought, help to make it seem remote from today. How can people ever have worn such clothes or had such ideas? They must have been very different from us, mustn't they?

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The Ethel Cotton Course in Conversation

Posted by Alfred Armstrong

Sat, 01/19/2008 - 17:59

Author(s):

Ethel Cotton

Publisher:

Psychology Publishing Company

Edition / Year:

1951

Do YOU suffer from poor conversational skills? Although nowadays I may seem confident to the point of arrogance, I used to be just like you. My own failings in social intercourse embarassed me so much that if I was approached by an acquaintance in the street, I'd frequently run away to another town and start a fresh life under an assumed name, rather than risk exposing my inadequacies to public ridicule.