Steiner, M. S.

Pitfalls and Safeguards

First Edition. Elkhart, Indiana: Mennonite Publishing Co., 1899.

Introduction by D. H. Bender. 9 copies in OCLC, mostly religious institutions. Quarter cloth with patterned paper boards, 12mo, 221pp. Binding cocked, boards soiled and rubbed, Good+. Mennonite Sunday School inscription and number sticker to front pastedown.

Expected advice includes cautions against the saloon, the theater, dancing, gambling and unscrupulous monetary pursuits. Some more interesting material can be found in the section on "Falling in Love" ("flirting is an awful thing!") cautions against women underestimating their worth, or settling for an unworthy husband out of lovesickness. It also covers marrying outside the faith and the issue of "A Mannish Woman," insisting on both the actions and optics of traditional gender roles.

Menno S. Steiner (1866-1911) was a Mennonite (MC) evangelist, missionary, leader, author, and first president of the Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities. He served as a minister of the Zion Mennonite Church in Allen County, Ohio. (Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online)