Golden Book Returns

The Golden Book on Writing has come full circle - from Hanover to Madison Avenue and back to Hanover.

Written in 1923 by five English professors —David Lambuth, Kenneth A. Robinson, Hewette E. Joyce, W. Benfield Pressey, and Anton A. Raven —to teach their students how to write simple, clear, concise prose, The Golden Book was small, paperbound, and inexpensive. Within a few years it was also out of print, but not forgotten. It turned up at Dartmouth again this fall at Tuck School where it is being used in a course on "Case Analysis and Written Expression."

Dean Karl A. Hill '38 received a copy of a new edition from Vice President Orton H. Hicks '21. He, in turn, had received it from S. Heagan Bayles '33, chairman of the board of Sullivan, Stauffer, Colwell & Bayles, New York advertising firm. Bayles was the man responsible for the reprinting.

Bayles had purchased The Golden Bookas as a student and kept it with him over the years. Whenever he felt tempted to be flowery, verbose, or abstract, he referred to such injunctions as: "Simple words for big ideas," . . . "The adjective is the enemy of the noun,". . . "Exact words for exact thoughts," ... "Verbs are the sinews of speech."

Bayles preached The Golden Book's gospel at his agency and his single copy became dog-eared over the years. Finally he had it reprinted for his staff and distributed other copies to interested friends. Thus it came to the attention of Dean Hill, who has been concerned about some students' lack of analytical and writing skills. He ordered 120 copies which Bayles was able to supply.