1960 Boy Scout Handbook

1960 Boy Scout Handbook

In honor of my son earning his Arrow of Light badge and crossing over into Boy Scouts tonight, I've posted below the first few pages of my dad's Boy Scout Handbook from 1960. We don't have my son's new handbook yet, but I'm guessing the content will be very much the same as this one from half a century ago. That's a good indication of a well-grounded organization. However, I'm also guessing the artwork has changed drastically, and not for the better.

 Click any image to enlarge.

The cover art here was provided by Norman Rockwell. This was one of four covers featuring his iconic artwork.  This cover, according to this site, was the only piece done by Rockwell specifically for the Boy Scouts, in honor of their 50 year anniversary.  The main scout was painted by Rockwell but the background images were added by someone else.  His art was featured on three other covers as well, but all three pieces were first published in his Brown & Bigelow Scout Calendar.
You can see every handbook cover throughout scouting history, and read a short description of them here.

Melton Wilson
Troop 60
Sheridan, Arkansas

They all look the same to me.

Here's what's left of the back cover.  U.S. Royal was a prominent advertiser on the back cover of many of the scout handbooks.

This is another of my dad's handbooks.  This one is from 1958.