James L. Murphy has been kind enough to provide me with the following
details on Charles Sale, author of THE SPECIALIST. Seems Sale was an
American vaudevillian (1885-1936) born in South Dakota, who grew up in
Urbana, Illinois, and died in California. Murphy notes: "The (New York)
Times obituary does not even mention his book of humor, <The Specialist>
or several sequels...." Despite this oversight or dismissal, at least
297,000 copies had been printed by the end of 1949, a Swedish edition
came out a few years later (1953), and it was reprinted in London in
1994.
 
In posting the quote on how to use modesty to get your woodbox filled, I
forgot to make it clear the book is humor, rather than serious
meditation on the art of privy construction. However, in my opinion,
there are good observations among the laughs and Sale's preface covers
the book pretty well. "In this little sketch I have simply tried to
bring you recollections of a man I once knew, who was so rich in odd and
likeable traits of character as to make a most lasting impression on my
memory."
 
Taft Kiser
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