This instruction paper with examination questions offers the first part of a correspondence course on practical mathematics published by one of the first of proprietary correspondence schools, the International Correspondence Schools of Scranton, Pennsylvania. The firm grew out of Pennsylvania legislation from 1885 that required miners and mine inspectors to pass examinations in mine safety. T. J. Foster, editor of a journal called Collier Engineer and Metal Miner, began publishing an educational column on methods and machinery of mining. This proved of sufficient interest for Fischer to start offering correspondence courses on coal mining. This soon expanded to include a wide range of topics, including mathematics. By 1915, when this leaflet was published, the company was taking out copyrights in Great Britain as well as the United States.
A signature on the first page of text reads: Geo Yeager finished 10-5-18 (/) EAL 39374. The booklet also includes a loose order blank and price list for Technical Supply Company in Scranton, Pa.
Reference:
J. D. Watkinson, “’Education for Success’: The International Correspondence Schools of Scranton,
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