[Rarebooks] FS: HAND BOOK OF EXPLOSIVES FOR FARMERS - PLANTERS - RANCHERS (1910)

[A.E. Tishman]

Ezra and Josh of Aardvark Rare Books offer this “time-warp copy” and very early appearance of comprehensive instructions for agricultural use of explosives.


E.I. Dupont de Nemours Powder Co. HAND BOOK OF EXPLOSIVES FOR FARMERS - PLANTERS - RANCHERS: HOW TO CLEAR LAND OF STUMPS, BOULDERS OR TREES, DIG DITCHES, GRADE ROADS, EXCAVATE CELLARS AND FOUNDATION TRENCHES, SINK WELLS, DIG HOLES FOR POLES AND POSTS, BREAK UP HARDPAN OR. OTHER HARD SOIL, PLANT AND CULTIVATE FRUIT TREES, START LOG JAMS AND ICE GORGES WITH DUPONT EXPLOSIVES. (PLUS TYPEWRITTEN FORM LETTER LAID IN) THE FARMER'S HANDBOOK OF EXPLOSIVES. Wilmington, Delaware: E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Company, 1910. Staplebound Softcover. (9 in. x 6 in.) Beige card covers with an absolutely lovely five-color cover graphic to front and rear, in red, black, dark green, light green, and brown showing a farmer mounted on his horse, trotting down a nice wide road (which he has presumably, literally blasted through the woods and created, yes, with Dupont dynamite) on his farm, approaching some fruit trees. Wrinkling and some wear to paper spine, but tightly bound, and remarkably clean and tight at 113+ years old! Reprint copies abount, but Worldcat locates only 2 copies of this earliest located edition in libraries worldwide. 117 pp.
Illustrated with black and white photographs illustrating techniques, groups of
Dupont representatives who travel around to farms showing farmers how to blow things up, a remarkable picture of three men standing in front of a massive tree, arms linked, with the caption: "A Future Subject"; stump-blasting demonstrations, step- by-step multi-panel photos of how to make a blasting primer, crops grown on blasted land, as well as drawings of tools, lists of "Do's and Don'ts, etc.

Laid in is:

1) Three-page typewritten form letter (undated) to a farmer which lays out all of the latest uses for explosives on the farm. The

letter, while it gives the appearance of being a typewritten original, is labeled "Form 9545". The paper is of nice quality,

printed in red and black, watermarked with DuPont's own watermark, and auto-pen-signed by George Frank Lord, Manager

Agricultural Division. Verso of the first page lists the entire available catalogue of DuPont explosives (High Explosives,

Permissable Explosives, Low Explosives, Blasting Supplies, Sporting Powders; Military Explosives, Chemical Mixtures; Miscellaneous (Saltpetre, Nitre Cake, Wood Pulp, Nitrate of Soda, Charcoal) and Fabrikoid -- "A material of the leather type for upholstery, bookbinding and many other purposes for which leather is used. Greatly superior to split leathers.")

Very Good Plus. Softcover. (#86557) $185

"This book is intended to point out the advantages of the use of explosives for various purposes on the farm, and to give instructions for their use...Explosives are also used to advantage for splitting logs for rails, for felling trees, destroying old buildings and for almost any kind of work where a strong force quickly applied, is desirable..."

"Dynamite is simply concentrated power or condensed strength. In order to have it work in the correct way, and move in the right direction, it must be properly harnessed and the bit kept in its mouth, but this is easily done if the directions given in this handbook are followed intellligently..." (from Introduction)

"As time passes, farmers will find other ways of saving money by using explosives, for the demand for farm products isincreasing so rapidly that greater acreage must be put under cultivation, and the old acres must increase their yield..." 


Photos: 
DUPONT1910BLAST <https://www.dropbox.com/home/DUPONT1910BLAST>



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