Monthly Archives: January 2014

Question & Answer Series 179 Vademecum Series

Q: I have a series of Altemus books that I purchased from my college library, 35 years ago. The title page says Henry Altemus, Philadelphia. They are signed by the owner of these titles- J.Clay Stone, from Paris, Kentucky, and signed with the date 1898.
I have several books with similar covers. No dust jackets. All have wear. Many have pencil notes inside the front covers. All measure about 4 x 6.5 inches.

I would appreciate any information that you may have about these volumes,
Marvel: Dream Life, The Reveries of the Bachelor, Poe: Weird Tales

A: These three books are from the Vademecum Series.

They were published in 1898 and originally were sold within a labeled box.
All of the books in this series are reprints.

The covers of the 1898 Vademecum books have the same pattern but have been seen with a number of different colors. Other examples are shown below.

Henry Altemus Bibles in German

Between 1884 and the late 1890’s Altemus published six different German language Bibles. Their contents varied, containing some or all of the items noted below. The Bibles are numbered 1G to 6G. These gold gilt initials are at the bottom of the spine (example is below).

The German Henry Altemus Bibles are much scarcer than the Bibles in English.

Bible contents:
1. Old and New Testament
2. Dore Illustrations (and others)
3. Marriage Certificate and Family Registration
4. Revised Version Appended
5. Apocrypha, Concordance, Psalms on Metre
6. Smith’s Dictionary
7. Bible History and Analysis
8. Cyclopedia of the Bible
9. Dictionary of Names

Books 1G and 2G only contain the Old and New Testaments and Apocrypha, Family Register and the Dore Engravings. These Bibles cost $3.25 and $3.75 respectively.

Bibles 3G-6G contain all of the above contents but vary in the quality of the leather covers.
They range in price from $4.50 for Bible 3G to Bible 6G which cost $10.50.

Here is German Bible 6G. The cover is the same as that used for the English Bible B28. (See here)


 

 

Note
the 6G identification at the base of the spine

Title page

These are the family register pages. They are different from the ones found in the English Henry Altemus Bibles.

Question & Answer Series 180 Vademecum Series/ Series 48 Beauxarts Series

Q: Hello, I recently picked up these two volumes for my wife. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was written in 1899 to 1902, I think. Through The Looking Glass was written in 1899. Both editions are described as being in Very Good condition. Could you give me some information on these two books? Are they worth anything? I bought them both because I thought they were nicely done. I know my wife will love them as she is a high school English teacher. I wanted to do something different this year for Christmas. Thank you for your time.

A: You have two very nice books. The first editions were published in 1866 and 1871. Your books, of course, are later reprints.
The Alice book is from the Vademecum Series and was published in 1899. The Through the looking Glass book was published in 1902 as part of the Beauxarts Series. Both books originally came in labeled boxes.

Although they are not the most collectible of the Altemus reprints (those books have illustrated covers), their contents are the same. Clearly they are in great shape and have a very nice appearance in their own right.

Value is difficult to determine. The reason is that although the books are quite common, because of the Alice interest, they occasionally sell for decent dollars. I have seen them sell for $5 and I have seen them sell for $50. Rarely should they go for more than that because they are so easy to find.

Question & Answer Series 75 Devotional Series

Q: We have this book in our possession and are not able to find another like it. It is title Evening Thoughts. The inside says Evening Thoughts Philadelphia Henry Altemus Company. There is no year.
Can you share any other information with me?

Thank you

A: Your book is part of the Devotional Series (Format 9)

The exact year of publication is unclear but it was probably in the teens.

It is a reprint and has only nominal value.

Question & Answer Series 180 Vademecum Series

Q: Hello, I have another book (She Stoops to Conquer) I hope you can tell me more about. From looking at the Henry Altemus web site it appears to be from the Vademecum Series, its #189 in the L’Art Nouveau Series and I think it would be dated in 1901.

I’ve looked on the internet for more information but there seem to be numerous books and I have no idea of what the value of this book would be.

A: Your book is part of the Vademecum Series and was published in 1902. This title appeared in numerous Altemus Series. If you look at the pictures of the covers, you can identify where it belongs.

During 1902 this format was published with a number of different color covers. More than 40 different pictures have been seen within the cover template. See http://henryaltemus.com/vademecum.htm.

Series 147 Popular Fiction Series

The books of this five volume series (Popular Fiction Series) are among the scarcer Altemus editions. The front covers have been seen in various colors with the title and author noted. The dust jackets have colorful pictorial pictures representing a scene from the book. There are no illustrations within the books.

All five titles have a 1927 Altemus copyright. Four of the books were published previously in periodicals.

1. Storm of the Old Frontier Hall, Marshall R.
2. The Treasure of Caricar Hinds, Roy W.1
3. The Dark House in Florissant Kauffman, Reginald Wright
4. The Wages of Peril Bechdolt, Jack
5. The Murillo Mystery Poynter, Beulah

Storm of the Old Frontier was first published in People’s Popular Monthly in May, 1926.

Both The Treasure of Caricar by Roy W. Hinds and The Wages of Peril by Jack Bechdolt were originally copyrighted by the Red Star News Company in 1926 and 1925 respectively. Its weekly publication, Flynn’s, carried both serialized stories.

The Wages of Peril first appeared in Flynn’s as its cover story on the August 8, 1925 cover.

The Treasure of Caricar also appeared in this weekly in the September 4th, 11th, and 18th issues in 1926.

The Murillo Mystery was first published in 1926 by the Mystery Magazine Company in their Mystery Magazine. It is found in the June 25th and July 1st issues.

(Thanks to Phil Stephenson-Payne. His sensational site is at http://www.philsp.com/ and gives an incredible amount of information about these pulps. It would be well worth some time perusing his work)

Question & Answer Series 47 Beauxarts Series

Q: This seems to be an 1988 Beaux Arts series edition of Lalla Rookh, based on your series descriptions and photos. However, the cover is green rather than blue as described in various listings on Abe Books and in your photos. Wonder if that makes any difference in value – if this is of more than nominal value. It’s in VG condition based on my inexpert inspection.

A: This book is part of the Beauxarts Series and was published in 1898.
The green colored cover is probably the most commonly seen.

It is a reprint and this title is not a very desirable one. Thus, it only has nominal value.
Below are two other representative covers.

Question & Answer Series 179 Vademecum Series

Q: Hello. I found this book (Poe’s Weird Tales) among my grandmother’s things and am wondering if it has any value. It is marked copyrighted 1895 by Henry Altemus. Thank you for any information you may be able to give me.

A: Your book is part of the Vademecum Series and was published in 1896. It is a reprint which originally came within a labeled box.

There is quite a bit of collector’s interest in books by Poe. So even though it is a reprint, it may have some value. Determining that value is probably best done by an auction like Ebay.

Question & Answer Series 180 Vademecum Series

Q: Hi. I was wondering how much this book is worth if it is worth anything at all.
It’s A Sentimental Journey by Laurence Sterne.

A: Your book is part of the Vademecum Series and was published in 1903.

It originally was sold in a labeled box. Here is an example of the box.

During 1903, more than 40 pictures have been seen on the cover. Numerous colored covers were published. Some are shown below.
The book is a reprint and only has nominal value.