Subtitled "A Penniless Boy's Fortune", this book was obviously intended to attract readers of the Horatio Alger stories. But this is more than a boys' storybook, and Selden Hopkins was much more than a children's writer. In the 1800s, Hopkins helped establish and institutionalize the accounting profession in the U.S. He was also the first editor of the first accounting journal in America, The Book-Keeper, and was instrumental in the development of the first professional accounting association, the Institute of Accounts. In this book, the storyline often comes to a halt while his adult characters explain to the boy various aspects of business and finance. While Hopkins' storytelling abilities may have been limited, the book was certainly instructive for the 19th century boy who intended to become a businessman as an adult. There are even some illustrations of business forms.
The cover corners of this copy are bent, the spine is somewhat faded, especially the gold leaf over the title, the spine top is bumped, but there isn't much other external wear. The front free end paper has been torn out and there is moisture staining on the end papers and the rear of the Frontispiece; there are two short paper tears near the gutter of the rear end papers, but the binding remains tight throughout; the title page has a two-inch tear at the bottom, also at the gutter; the pages, though age-toned, are nice; other than a faint erasure on the rear of the Frontispiece, I found no markings,creases or other tears on the pages. A very scarce book by one of the innovators of modern American accounting.