Going through my personal library I recently re-discovered a 1961 book titled "Design for You" by Ethel Jane Beitler and Bill C. Lockhart. My copy of this text book is from 1965, so the book must have had some readership back in the 60s. What's interesting to me is how general the book is in range, it gives an overview of the entire field of design from cover to cover, with the first few chapters on basic concepts followed by chapters on specific subjects like typography and poster design.
I don't think a book like this would do well today because it's so general, yet the concepts in the book still hold up today - because good design is good design - it doesn't matter if it's for a shower curtain print or a website HTML page layout. One of the problems I see today is that how to books are so specialized, that many people aren't aware of the general principals of design - however I would argue that knowing these today with websites, PowerPoint, and desktop publishing these concepts are even more important than in 1961.
Here are some scans from the book:
