User:Hatzie

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This user is a member of WikiProject Automobiles.



This is a Wikipedia user page.

This is not an encyclopedia article. If you find this page on any site other than Wikipedia, you are viewing a mirror site. Be aware that the page may be outdated and that the user this page belongs to may have no personal affiliation with any site other than Wikipedia itself.

The International Textbook Company

[edit] History

The International Textbook Company was founded in 1895 by publisher Thomas J. Foster in Scranton, PA[1].
As its' name implies the I.T.C. published instruction papers, booklets, and textbooks for its' subsidiary the International Correspondence Schools. The textbook company and the International Correspondence Schools were dependent on each other from the beginning.

The Correspondence School started in 1891 as a Question and Answer column in the pages of the mining journal Mr Foster published titled "Colliery Engineer and Metal Miner". This column was a response to the in depth tests required of miners and inspectors by the "New" Pennsylvania Mine Safety Act of 1885.[2]
The I.T.C. merged the Colliery Engineer School of Mines, School of Mines, Correspondence Schools, and the International Correspondence School as the International Correspondence Schools under the new International Textbook Company. [3]

Mr T.J. Foster's less than ethical business practices bankrupt the school and the book company. Philanthropic Scranton bankers and businessmen who saw the potential impact this school would have on their community re-organized it under receivership in 1905. Many men and women who didn't have the means for schooling past grade school in the first half of the 20th century can thank them for their vision. This school provided a way to gain practical knowledge that could better their earning potential.

The International Correspondence Schools of Scranton, PA Operated under that name from 1895 till 1996. The school is still in operation today as the Penn Foster Career School.

[edit] Selected bibliography

The books published by the International Textbook Co. for correspondence school courses are clear, concise, and easy for an adult to assimilate key information. People with hobbies such as metalworking and steam locomotives prize these texts for the information they can provide the beginner or experienced individual.
Paper booklets
The I.T.C. published large numbers of paper bound course booklets from 1895 through 1996. The contents of these booklets were also printed in several types of larger volumes for libraries where each chapter contains the information in one of the course booklets.

Hardcover correspondence school textbooks
The I.T.C. published at least 700 numbered and lettered International Library instruction books for each class bound in Embossed Navy Blue cloth leatherette with gold gilt lettering on the spines. These are known to collectors as "I.C.S. Bluebooks". Copyrights are listed in both the United States and Great Britain. The example below is 14 of the available Foundry course books.

  • N192 Metallurgy Of Iron And Steel
  • N192B Metallurgy
  • 193 Patternmaking Equipment and Operation
  • 194B Patternmaking I
  • 195B Patternmaking II
  • N196I Metallography
  • 197B Greensand Molding
  • 198B Core Making and Machine Molding
  • 199B Foundry Equipment
  • 201C Mixing and Melting Cast Iron
  • 202C Steel Casting
  • 203B Non-Ferrous Casting
  • 204D Malleable Casting
  • 205C Shop Equipment - Hand Forging - Tool Dressing
  • 206C Tempering and Heat Treatment of Steel

Larger Hardcover Reference Textbooks
ICS and ITC also published at least four different sets of large hardcover compilations as "I.C.S. Textbooks", "I.C.S. Reference Library", and "International Library of Technology". These larger volumes usually contain the entirety of several of the Bluebooks.

Examples
Cotton Warp Preparation 7B by ICS Staff
Includes;

  • 482 Spoolers
  • 483 Beam Warpers
  • 642A Chain Warping-I
  • 642B Chain Warping-II
  • 5473A Cotton Slashing-I
  • 5473B Cotton Slashing-II

International Library of Technology
International Textbook Company Volume 171 "Drawing" Includes;

  • Geometrical Drawing
  • Mechanical Drawing
  • Sketching
  • Practical Projection
  • Development of Surfaces

I.C.S. Reference Library
Volume 259 Includes;

  • Planer Work
  • Shaper and Slotter Work
  • Milling Machine WOrk
  • Gear Calculations
  • Gear Cutting
  • Grinding
  • Toolmaking

I.C.S. Textbooks
Steam Engineering includes;
14 textbooks on steam boilers steam mechanics and boiler management in one binding.

[edit] References

  1. ^ The World's Work By Walter Hines Page, Arthur Wilson Page pp. 319-320
  2. ^ http://academic.scranton.edu/department/wml/icsfinding.htm
  3. ^ http://academic.scranton.edu/department/wml/icsfinding.htm