Henry Altemus Company

The following are questions submitted via email by our visitors.

If you have a question about Altemus books that you'd like answered please click on the Questions link at the bottom left of this page.

Vademecum Series

Q:  I am from the Netherlands so please forgif me for mij writing.

I have a copy of the book: Gold Dust. Can you tell me please if this is a rare book? On the picture i include the collor is bleu but in real it is grey.

Thanks for your time,

A:  Your book was published in 1898 as part of the Vademecum Series. This series of more than 100 books consisted of the reprints of various essays, poetry, fiction and classics. See: ../series/series179.htm. All the books were originally published with labeled boxes.

This title only has nominal value.

Young People's Library Format 1

Q:  Hello, We recently found a bunch of old books from one of our relatives and in them was a copy of Robinson Crusoe published by Altemus that was given as a Christmas present in 1898. We would like some information on the book as to the real age, and approximate worth of the book for insurance purposes.

A:  Hi. Your book is part of the Young People's Library and was published between 1895 and 1898. If you look here: ../series/series202F1.htm you will find a flow chart that will allow you to date your book by studying the advertisements within it.

Generally since this is a reprint (albeit a nice one) it sells for between $10-20.

Beauxarts Series

Q:  Hello, I have an antique copy of the light of asia, and it says it was published by henry altemus in 1842 or so. Can i have some more information on the book, along with possible worth? Thanks so much!

A:  It was not published in 1842. The 1842 refers to when the company was started by Joseph Altemus, Henry's father. Henry was born in 1833 and probably did not do much work at the age of nine.

Your book was one of many reprints of this title that Altemus published between the early 1890's and the teens. It is part of the Beauxarts Series. (../series/series47.htm)

Generally these publisher's series reprints only have more than nominal value if they have a collectible title, like Alice in Wonderland for example.

Young People's Library- Format 1

Q:  Greetings,
I have attached a photo of the front cover of "The Pilgrim's Progress." There are no ads in the back and only 6 books are listed behind the cover page. Could you confirm that this is a first edition and give me some idea as to its value. Thank you very much for your assistance.

A:  Your book probably is an early Altemus edition but not the first Altemus edition. Altemus published its first edition in 1890. The true first edition was published in the 1600's.

Your book is part of the Young People's Library (../series/series202F1.htm). The exact date of publication can be determined by using the flowchart which is on the series page.

These reprints ordinarily sell for only a few dollars.

Young People's Library, Format 4

Q:  Ten days ago, I came across a Henry Altemus Company book without a publishing date and doing my usual daily research, I came across your website and was able to roughly match my book with an image of the cover of another book, thus giving me a nice estimate for a publishing year, around 1907.

Today's book, I'm afraid, has no date and I can find no matching cover style on your site so far. Fortunately, there is an inscription inside the front cover dated Christmas 1924, but I was hoping to match a cover style as well to make that a more concrete date, if possible.

The book is 'A Child's Garden of Verses' by Robert Louis Stevenson. I have attached my images of the day for the book and I apologize that there isn't a direct shot of the cover, but I think you might be able to get a general idea just the same. My question to you is, does this look like it could be from around 1924? Or do you perhaps recognize that style of cover as another particular year?

I don't expect much, but thought I would drop a line and check with you.

A:  Your book appears to be from the Young People's Library Format 4 (see: ../series/series202F4.htm) which was published for the first time in 1923. Thus based on the inscription in your picture the book probably is either a 1923 or 1924 book.

I looked at your slideshow. Very nice. If you have other questions regarding dating books, I can try to help. I have an extensive reference library for this sort of thing.

For dating issues the place to start is generally the title page.

Vademecum Series

Q:  Today, your expert book assessments and email address were discovered on the "allexperts.com" website. On that website your comments addressing inquiries pertaining to old copies of the "House of Seven Gables" book are exhibited. In at least one response, you mentioned that your assessment could be more accurate if the inquirer sent you a picture of their copy of the "House of Seven Gables" book.

Here (attached) are some pictures of our copy of an old "House of Seven Gables" book. Would you mind telling us the year that Henry Altemus published this particular copy and what the typical market value of this book is? Thank you in advance for your assistance in this matter.

A:  This book was published in 1897. It is part of the Vademecum Series.( ../series/series179.htm)

This series is made up of reprints of fiction, classics, poetry essays, etc. Except for a few of the titles which are collectable, the books of this series have no significant value.

Generally speaking because this book is a reprint of a not very collectible title, it will not sell for more than a few dollars.

Mother Goose Series

Q:  Hello,
This book doesn’t appear in your database. I am hoping that you might be able to give me some information on it.
Thank you for your time.

A:  Actually this book is in the database.

See ../series/series131.htm for more information.

It is Format 3 #4 on the page above. It originally came with a dust jacket which had the same picture on it as the cover of the book.

It is a reprint and has only nominal value.

Young People's Library-Format 1

Q:  Hello, I have a Gulliver's Travels published by Altemus, Philadelphia from the Altemus' Young People's Library, date of publication: "Copyright 1896 by Henry Altemus". The price printed on it is 50 cents. It has 55 illustrations. Could you kindly tell me what this book is worth approximately, if anything?

I've included a jpeg - it happens to be accompanied by my Dr. Dolittle book, which is not published by Altemus.
I appreciate your help.

A:  Your book which can be found here ../series/series202F1.htm is not uncommon. There is a flowchart on that page to help you determine which Altemus edition it is and when between 1896 and 1898 it was published.

Clearly your copy is in excellent shape. Unfortunately there is not a lot of interest in this edition. I would think $10-20 would be on the high side.

Of course, you never know when someone just has to have a certain book.

Vademecum Series

Q:  I was wondering if you recognize this book (Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin) and could perhaps tell me what year it was published. It does say Henry Altemus Company, but no location other than Philadelphia.

A:  Your book can be found here: ../series/series180.htm.

It is part of the Vademecum Publisher's Series.

It was published in 1905-1906. During this year this format had four different flower patterns and several different cover colors.

Petit Trianon Series

Q:  I have the Emerson Essays - second edition - dated 1899

I've looked through your site and not able to find a value for it, any help you could give would be appreciated.

A:  Your book can be found here: Petit Trianon Series It was published in 1899 and is a reprint. There are no book values listed on the site.

Although I can give you a rough idea of what this book has sold for over the past 10 years or so, frequently the prices paid are so unpredictable that my opinion is rather meaningless.

But regardless of that, in my opinion your book only has nominal value.