This contributed to his low tolerance for tedious tasks, and consequently he did not do well on the family farm or in his uncle's grammar school. Realizing that she had an unusually gifted child--he had learned to read by the age of three--Lucy Bancroft taught her son at home. The family's financial difficulties forced Bancroft at the age of sixteen to forgo a college education and to earn a living. Bancroft, however, experienced as many problems with his bookkeeping job as with grammar school and farming. He was fired. But with the help of his brother-in-law, George H. Derby, he discovered his talent as a book salesman. Bancroft's career took off as soon as he was able to work independently, using his imagination, common sense, and intuitive skill.
The gold-rush West offered an opportunity for developing his book-trade acumen into the largest book-and-stationery firm west of Chicago by 1869. But his road to success was typically circuitous and arduous. His first trip to California in the spring of 1852 met with disaster. The death of George Derby left Bancroft without a solid business partner in the East, depriving the novice wholesaler of credit and confidence from western clients.
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