Monthly Archives: June 2013

Question & Answer Series 57 Boys and Girls Classics

Q: I didn’t find any information on your site about the Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland book that I own, dated 1897. I have attached images to see if you have any information about it.
Thank you.

A: This book is part of the 15 volume Boys and Girls Classics Series.

The books in this series were published between 1908 and 1926 and are all reprints of previously published Altemus books. All of the books originally came within labeled floral decorated boxes. (See below) There are a number of different covers on these books. Your cover was published in the early-mid teens.

Question & Answer Series 76 Diplome D’Honneur Series

Q: Hello, While going through boxes from my mother’s estate, I came across this book (The Song of Hiawatha), and wonder if you can give me more information about it. While the interior pages are in good condition, the covered is somewhat soiled and a little worn, as you can see. Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.

A: Your book was published in 1902 as part of the Diplome D’Honneur Series.

The cover is quite unique. The right half is made of brocaded satin.

The book is a reprint and only has nominal value.

Question & Answer Series 180 Vademecum Series

Q: Front cover and inside illustration The Scarlet Letter, printed 1900 (Henry Altemus Company Philadelphia), Vademecum Series. Your website shows this cover on ‘Black Beauty’. What is value? Someone is selling same on ebay, item # 360563665636 for $1,499.95. Thanks for info.

A: This book was published in 1900 as part of the Vademecum Series.

It originally came within a labeled box. As with all the titles in this series, it is a reprint.

This is a book that sells, if at all, for a few dollars.

Anyone can list anything on EBay for any price. The trick is to sell, not just list, at the high price.

Non Series #22 Bill of the U.S.A.

Bill of the U.S.A. by Kenneth Graham Duffield 1918

This little 62 page book (5.75 x 3.75) was published in 1918. It was copyrighted on May 1, 1918 Three different cover formats were published.
a. Cloth -50 cents
b. Imitation Morocco – 75 cents
c. Full Leather – $1.25

The interiors of the books are identical. “Printed in the United of America” does not appear on any copyright page. (This indicates a pre-1922 publication).

The cloth books have been seen with two different dust jackets. One of which has a written poem on the front and one of which does not. Between the dust jackets no known priority can be assigned.

This was a very popular book. By the fall of 1918 it was in its 27,000th printing.



Cloth


Imitation Morocco


Dust Jacket (cloth cover)


Dust jacket (cloth book-variant)

Note absence of Printed in the United States of America at the base of the copyright page. (i.e. pre-1922 publication)

 

1918 advertisement

Series 79 Esperance Series

The Esperance Series is a 20 volume series of ooze calf books which originally came in labeled boxes.

The book shown here is the first I have seen with an ornamental front cover attached ribbon. It is unclear if all the books in this series originally came with this ribbon. This is the first I have seen.

Question & Answer Series 180 Vademecum Series

Q: Can you help me pin point a year for this one (Lucile)? I have found similar, but not exact on your web site. Think I have narrowed down the dates from 1909 – 1926, but would like a more precise date if available.
Photos attached. Thank you for any help you can give.

A: This book is part of the Vademecum Series and was published between 1909 and 1912. It originally came within a labeled red box.

This book as well as all the other books in this series is a reprint and only has nominal value.

Series 180 Vademecum Series

This publisher’s series was published from 1894 to 1926. The books it contains are all reprints. The cover design changed every year two. Initially all the books came in labeled boxes.
By 1917 when this book was printed the Vademecum Series books were published with dust jackets.

Here is an example. Note that the interior of the jackets has a list of Altemus’ juvenile series books. Listed in the ads is Grace Harlowe’s Golden Summer which was published in 1917. Of note is that the dust jacket is made from brown uncoated paper. This is exceptional since as a general rule after 1915 all Altemus dust jackets have coated paper.

Series 57 Boys and Girls’ Classics (new)

This 15 volume series of children’s stories was published between 1908 and 1926. The books are frequently stated to be part of the Young People’s Library because the title pages note “Young People’s Library” at the top. Altemus used the plates of the latter series for this set of books. These books however are part of their own series in which the volumes had linen covers.

Another frequent error occurs when dating these books. Note on the title page that the copyright 1898 by Henry Altemus is shown. This is the Altemus copyright which is not the same as the publication date.

The books had a number of different cover pictures. This one was used between 1908 and the early teens.

All of these books came in a labeled box. It is shown below.

For more details about this series see Boys and Girls’ Classics (new).

Grimm's Fairy Tales Fairy Tales by Brothers Grimm

Question & Answer Series 180 Vademecum Series

Q: Idylls of the King. Any help would be amazing. I can’t find any title page giving copyright or anything. Thank you!

A: Your book is part of the Vademecum Series and was published between 1909-1912.

Originally it came in a red labeled box.

At one time there was a paste-on (appliqué) on the bottom middle of the front cover. You can see what this looked like on the site.

Your book is a reprint and unfortunately has no value.