This was a course by mail that seems to have been quite popular, judging by the number of books out there. It isn't all that rare, but books from the series are rather desirable and fetch pretty good prices on eBay.
Certain books are less common than others. The lingerie and millinery books are difficult to find and tend to be pricey. This particular book is fairly common, and I think I actually own two copies. (I try to buy these books in lots so I can keep the cost down as much as possible. They are more expensive if you try to buy them individually.)
In my experience, the older (pre-1923) editions are more desirable than the later ones. 1916 is the earliest copyright date I've seen; I think it was the first edition in the US, but I'm not sure.
<A href="http://search-desc.ebay.com/womans-institute_Vintage-Sewing_W0QQcatrefZC3QQcatrefZC6QQcoactionZcompareQQcoentrypageZsearchQQcopagenumZ1QQfclZ3QQfposZ45387QQfromZR2QQfsooZ2QQfsopZ2QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQftsZ2QQsacatZ113QQsadisZ200QQsargnZQ2d1QQsaslcZ2QQsatitleZwomanQ27sQ20instituteQQsbrftogZ1QQsocdpfcatZ113QQsofocusZbs" target=blank>Check eBay</A> for an idea of all the books out there and the prices they go for.
The Woman's Institute produced courses on many topics, from cooking to sewing.
I really like the sewing courses and would love to have a complete set. <A href="http://www.vintagecat.com/early.htm" target=blank>VintageCat</a> has some complete sets for sale, but they have top dollar prices. Here is <A href="http://www.vintagecat.com/catsmeow.htm" target=blank>the complete millinery set</A> on VintageCat - see item #2 on the page.
I hope this helps!
Laura
