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.

In His Name Series

Q:  Back in 2007 my ex husband and I bought a house in North Brookfield Massachusetts and we were remodeling and in one of the walls we torn down found this book (Jessica's Mother) in it. I was wondering if you had any information about this I have attached photos hopefully it helps thank you.

A:  I believe your book is from the In His Name Series.

Your book is from the first format of this series. In this format the right half of the cover had one of 16 flower pictures. A better picture of an example of this cover is shown here.

Unfortunately it is in terrible shape. If you are wondering if you have discovered a hidden treasure (as everyone hopes for), this book is not it. In this condition it has no monetary value.

In His Name Series

Q:  I have a book called, The Creation Story by William E. Gladstone. There is a stamp on the inside front cover of the shop that sold it: JONES & WATSON - Jewelers, Opticians, Magazines, Books - KIRBYVILLE, TEXAS. I have attached a picture of the cover and the copyright page. Can I rely on this as the proper copyright - 1896 - or is there another date I should use?

A:  This book was published as part of the In His Name Series in the 1904-1907 time frame.

This is a Format 3 book. These books came with a dust jacket that lists the titles of the series on the jacket front. There were four different covers-each with a different flower and rectangular idyllic picture. See here.

These titles are hard to sell at any price.

In His Name Series

Q:  Hi, Trying to do some research to determine the value of my book (Eternal Life). Just says Henry Altemus so I'm assuming it is pre 1900. "Copyright by Henry Altemus 1896". Am I correct in assuming this is also publication date? Thank you so much for your help. I was so delighted to find your site.

A:  Your book can be found here: ../series/series110.htm

Although the Altemus copyright of this book is pre-1900, it was published in the early 1900's. Note that it says Henry Altemus Company at the bottom of the title page. Altemus incorporated in 1900.

Unfortunately most of the titles from this series of reprints are not widely collected and when they sell, it is for just a few dollars.

In His Name Series

Q:  Hello, I inherited the attached book and after my dog ripped the first page I started to do some research on it (after putting him in the kennel of course)…but can’t find any info on it. There is no publication date except there is a date someone wrote (1908) by hand on the interior. When was this book published? Do you know anything about ‘Little Pillows’? It isn’t listed anywhere in the site. I assume it’s part of the reprint series?

A:  This book is part of the In His Name Series, Format 2. There are 16 possible flower picture. Yours is #10 Lily of the Valley. It was published in the 1903-1904 range. This book originally had a dust jacket.

In His Name Series

Q:  I received a lovely little Henry Altemus volume for Christmas called Evening Comfort, arranged by Elisabeth Robinson Scovil, copyright 1898. What can you tell me about this book? Thank You.

A:  Your book is part of the In His Name Series (Series # 110). The series was published between 1901-1912. The book pictured here is in Format 3- volume 28 out of 46. In order to determine the year of publication, the book's dust jacket is necessary. At the earliest it was published in 1903.

Juvenile Quartos Series

Q:  Hi, I was going through some of my grandmothers hand me downs and came across this book (The Story of Little Black Sambo). I have been searching the internet but cannot seem to locate this particular book.

Can you please provide me with some detail on it? Is it rare? With all the Black Sambo books I've found I cant imagine it would be but I am interested in some detail on this book and why I cant find it on the internet?

Thank you for your time.

A:  Altemus published this book in 1931 and later David Mckay did a reprint edition of this exact book. You can find this book on this website here: ../series/series113.htm.

It is quite uncommon because Altemus stopped publishing books in 1932 so your book was only in print for a short time. I trust your book is the oversized format at about 7 x 9.

Although it is not a first edition, it is still quite a nice book.

Kipling Series

Q:  I am wondering if this book is worth anything? The Three Musketeers

A:  This book is part of the Kipling Series and was published in 1899.
It is a reprint.
It has nominal value.

Kipling Series

Q:  Wee Willie Winkie - Is this a first edition?

A:  This book is part of the Kipling Series (Henry Altemus Company - Kipling Series 114) and was published between 1899-1901.

These books originally came with dust jackets. See an example here.

Altemus published no Kipling first editions.

Kipling Series

Q:  I picked this book up because I love Kipling and was curious about it, i saw that it is part of a series - do you know anything else? Is it rare? I cant seem to find it on any rare book sites. Thanks! On the City Wall

A:  Your book is part of the 21 title Kipling Series. This set was published in 1899-1900. Kipling books were reprinted by numerous firms and are not especially rare.

This book was originally published with a dust jacket.

Kipling Series

Q:  Hi, I picked this book (Gemini) up because I love Kipling and was curious about it, i saw that it is part of a series - do you know anything else? Is it rare? I cant seem to find it on any rare book sites. Thanks!

A:  Your book is part of Altemus's Kipling Series. This 21 title series was published in 1899.

The books originally came with dust jackets.

Uncommon, yes - Rare, no. Any book with a jacket would be fairly rare.

A picture of the dust jacket is shown here