author
Aaron A. Warford
A prolific late-19th-century writer of practical and curious manuals, this author turned everything from magic tricks and fencing to gardening and fortune-telling into lively how-to books. His work has a brisk, instructive style that still feels entertaining today.
6 Audiobooks
How to become a scientist : Giving interesting and instructive experiments in chemistry, mechanics, acoustics and pyrotechnics
by Aaron A. Warford
How to tell fortunes : containing Napoleon's Oraculum and the key to work it; also tells fortunes by cards, lucky and unlucky days, signs and omens.
by Aaron A. Warford
How to become an inventor : Containing experiments in photography, hydraulics, galvanism and electricity, magnetism, heat, and the wonders of the microscope
by Aaron A. Warford
How to stuff birds and animals : A valuable book giving instruction in collecting, preparing, mounting, and preserving birds, animals, and insects
by Aaron A. Warford
How to fence : Containing full instruction for fencing and the use of the broadsword; also instruction in archery
by Aaron A. Warford
How to become an actor
by Aaron A. Warford
About the author
Aaron A. Warford appears to have been a versatile handbook writer whose books were published in the 1880s. Records in Open Library list works first published between 1882 and 1885, including How to Become a Magician, How to Keep House, How to Ride a Bicycle, How to Make Candy, and How to Break, Ride and Drive a Horse.
His surviving catalog suggests a strong taste for practical instruction mixed with popular amusements. Project Gutenberg currently lists titles such as How to Tell Fortunes, How to Fence, How to Become an Actor, How to Become a Scientist, How to Become an Inventor, and How to Stuff Birds and Animals, showing the wide range of subjects attached to his name.
Very little firmly confirmed biographical detail is easy to find, so he is best known through the books themselves. Taken together, they paint a picture of an author who wrote for curious general readers and offered compact, accessible guidance on the skills, hobbies, and entertainments of his day.