author
Roy Lester James
b. 1884
A veteran salesman turned business writer, he shared practical advice in a warm, plainspoken voice that still feels direct and usable today. His best-known book captures the rhythms of early 20th-century American selling through letters filled with experience, discipline, and common sense.
1 Audiobook
Letters From an Old Time Salesman to His Son
by Roy Lester James
About the author
Born in 1884, Roy Lester James is known for Letters from an Old Time Salesman to His Son, published in 1922. The book presents sales and life advice through a series of letters, giving it an easy, conversational feel instead of the tone of a formal manual.
Available catalog and archival records identify him as a businessman as well as an author. He worked in food sales and management, including roles connected with Swift & Co. and later Libby, McNeill & Libby, which helps explain the practical, lived-in detail behind his writing.
James died in 1944. Though not a widely famous literary figure, he remains an interesting voice from the business world of his era, especially for listeners curious about older ideas of work, character, and salesmanship.