Name/Title
Handbook for BoysEntry/Object ID
2026.130.1Description
In 1948, the BSA lowered its entry age from 12 to 11 and changed the advancement requirements, necessitating a new Handbook.
The 5th Edition offered many changes from the previous Handbook. It drops the chapter on games and the extensive sections on animals, birds, insects, trees, fishes, which had appeared in all Handbooks until that time. In place of the wildlife descriptions, it groups flora and fauna in several drawings of various habitats (seashore, forest, etc.); the amount of wildlife content and discussion, however, is greatly reduced and remains so until the 9th Edition. The 5th Edition also contains a minimal discussion of puberty and not a hint of sex. Again, not until the 9th Edition would a Handbook contain any guidance on sex. Along with the Original Edition, the 5th Edition omits any mention of alcohol or tobacco or of poisonous snakes. -monograph by Jeff Snowden, Troop 97 ScoutmasterCollection
BooksCreate Date
May 16, 2026
