An edition of Don't (1883)

Don't

a manual of mistakes & improprieties more or less prevalent in conduct and speech

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Last edited by Hector Moll-Carrillo
February 1, 2014 | History
An edition of Don't (1883)

Don't

a manual of mistakes & improprieties more or less prevalent in conduct and speech

  • 3 Want to read

This is Henry Hitching's description from Five Best in the WSJ...
( http://online.wsj.com/news/article_email/SB10001424052702303947904579336581013004714-lMyQjAxMTA0MDAwMTEwNDEyWj )

  1. This curious volume, subtitled "A Manual of Mistakes and Improprieties More or Less Prevalent in Conduct and Speech," is the one book on my list that is directly concerned with manners. I came across it while researching a history of arguments about English usage ("The Language Wars") and delighted in Bunce's mixture of tetchy pedantry and self-awareness. Of the man himself I know little: He was an American, a publisher and a journalist who also dabbled in writing plays—one of them performed specifically for the benefit of the Shirt Sewers' Union. Only "Don't," which appeared in 1883, made much of an impression on the world. Bunce's character is discernible on every page. Some of the guidance is sensible, if perhaps unnecessary—in a crowd, one shouldn't carry a cane horizontally. Some is vague: "Don't be over-civil." Some is hard to comply with: "Don't eat onions or garlic, unless you are dining alone and intend to remain alone some hours thereafter." And some is just plain weird: "Don't play the concertina to excess." Bunce's mission to stamp out mistakes and improprieties is, of course, a failure. Telling people what not to do is a surefire way of getting them to do it. But "Don't" is one of those rare books that charm the reader by accident.
Publish Date
Publisher
Pryor
Language
English
Pages
96

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Previews available in: English

Book Details


Edition Notes

Reprint. Originally published: 2nd ed. London : Field & Tuer, 1883?

Published in
Yorkletts, Whitstable, Kent
Series
Vellum-parchment shilling series of miscellaneous literature ;, no. 9.

Classifications

Library of Congress
BJ1852 .B89x 1982

The Physical Object

Pagination
96 p. ;
Number of pages
96

Edition Identifiers

Open Library
OL2822096M
Internet Archive
dontmanualofmist0000bunc
ISBN 10
0946014027
LCCN
83672583
OCLC/WorldCat
10302391
LibraryThing
248538
Goodreads
1226391

Work Identifiers

Work ID
OL5341001W

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