Link for this is : Nineteenth Century in Print, Books: Special Presentation- Self-Help and Self-Improvement.
I found this collection of 19th Century Books in Print and there large archive of Self-Help and Self-Improvement books in it. Here is a description of the collection:
"Many nineteenth-century Americans believed strongly in the individual’s capacity to improve and educate him- or herself, as well as in the importance of formal education. American society was also thought to be more fluid in its class structure than many European societies, a conviction which fostered the widespread faith that perseverance and hard work could enable the individual to rise in rank and in prosperity. At the same time, the growth of literacy and the waning of traditional structures of apprenticeship and household training made it both practical and necessary to offer in print form the kinds of practical instructions that an earlier era might have transmitted orally. The Nineteenth Century in Print accordingly offers a number of works of self-help and self-improvement, from advice on domestic economy and agricultural practice to hints on how to acquire the attributes of personal gentility that might speed one’s entry into a higher social class. Here is a sampling of these titles:"
Christopher Crowfield [Harriet Beecher Stowe]; House and Home papers, 1869
B.B. Hotchkin; Manliness. For Young Men and Their Well-Wishers,1864.
William Mathews,; Getting on in the World; or, Hints on Success in Life, 1874
Self improvement has a long tradition in American History. From the proverbs of Benjamin Franklin to the teachings of Tony Robins, our society has believed that anyone can pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. Here are some books that help trace the roots of this tradition.
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