Q: I just received this copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Louis Carroll and I am struggling to find any clues to the origins I’d this book (such as the age, series, or worth) and I was hoping you could give me some insight, I saw a copy of Black Beauty on Amazon with the same hard cover but neither have a dust cover so although I know is published by Altemus I don’t know which copy this is.

A: Your book is part of the Sanspareil Series and was published in 1899. It originally came with a dust jacket.

During this year, a number of different color covers were published. Some of these in addition to a representative dust jacket picture are shown here.

There are quite a few “Alice” collectors. The Altemus Alice books that have a picture on the cover seem to sell for much higher prices than the publisher’s series Alice’s. Thus, unless you find a collector that just has to have this format, your book will probably not sell for very much.

Q: I have attached an image of the book that I have in my possession published by Henry Altemus, Philadelphia. The bookplate from the original owner has the date of 1898 in it, and I have been unable to see another copy with this binding. I was wondering if you could give me anymore information on it. Thank you.

A: Your book is part of the Beauxarts Series and was published in 1898.

It is a reprint as are all the books in this series. It only has nominal value.

The books of this series were published in a number of color combinations during this year. See below for some examples.

This 16 book series was first published in 1915. The books are similar to the same titles which are in the Young People’s Library, Format 3 except that they are larger and the front cover has a horizontal decorative pattern at the bottom. Also each book has four full color illustrated plates. These books were published with dust jackets. See Ever New Books for Young People

The books in this series are quite scarce. Today I am adding a new cover picture to the database.

Q: Is this book worth anything? The Queen of the Air

A: Your book is part of the Vademecum Series and was published in 1904. This title is a reprint as are all of the titles in this series. Originally this volume came with a labeled box. A representative box is shown below.

These 1904 books have been seen in numerous colors. There are four different flower pictures that were used for the paste-on strips on the front cover.

Unless the title is one that is collectable, the books generally only have nominal value.

Q: What year is this book (A Christmas Carol) really? Is it a reprint? What is its worth? Thank you

A: Yes, it is a reprint. This format was published between 1900 and 1906. It originally came with a labeled box. The first American edition of the Christmas Carol was published in 1844.

Your book is part of the Boys and Girls Classics Series. On the website there is an explanation of how to date your book more precisely -using the ads in the back of the book.

This 320 page is 7.5″ x 5.25″. This title was added to the Little Men and Women Series in 1910. There are four full page black and white line drawn illustrations by Herbert Pullinger. The non series version of this book cost $1.00.

The earliest book is distinguished from the later books by the white cover lettering and no ads in the back. The later books have red lettering.

After the earliest book was published but before this title was added to the Little Men and Women Series, there is a format with red lettering but no ads in the back.

Earliest non series book		Later non series edition

See also Non Series #26

Altemus published Bibles for other firms. Here is an example of a Bible that Altemus published for this Cleveland firm. The cover is shown above as B43. It is not dated but appears to have been published in the mid-1890’s.

This Bible contains:
Old and New Testament
Dore illustrations
Marriage Certificate and Family Registration
Revised Verson Appended
Apocrypha
Smith’s Dictionary
Dictionary of names

Chas. W. and Harris B. Burrows opened their book and stationery store in November, 1872. Charles was a West Point graduate and had previously worked with the Boston publisher Lee and Shepard.

Their publishing business began by 1875. Burrows incorporated in 1886 and absorbed the business of a competitor, E. L. Schinkel, formerly of Brooks, Schinkel and Company. The brothers sold out in 1912. The publishing business was discontinued at that time.

This little limply bound leatherette book has 55 pages. It is 6.25″ x 4.5″ and cost 25 cents.

In 1888 Scovil wrote several articles entitled “Baby’s Requirements” in Good Housekeeping. This Springfield, Massachusetts magazine was published by Clark W. Bryan. These articles were the foundation for this later work. In 1892 the Curtis Publishng Company printed the first edition of this book. Curtis was the publisher of the Ladies’ Home Journal and one of its editors was Scovil.

By the time Altemus published this title, it was in the eleventh thousand printing.

Product advertisements in Altemus books are basically unheard of. Leinbach & Bro advertised its clothing store but that was in books that Leinbach gave away.

See: http://henryaltemus.com/ephemera/leinbach.htm. Here is the only example that I know of a product advertisement in an Altemus book. It is bound into the extremely rare 1895 Altemus edition of Baby’s Requirements by Elisabeth Robinson Scovil. The book which is 6.25 x 4.5 has a limp leatherette binding.

As you can see, here is an ad for Ivory Soap. It is placed in the back of the book and there are no other ads present. I cannot explain why this ad is in this book.

There is a chapter on bathing infants in the book but it does not mention Ivory Soap.

See also Non Series #16

This four book series (Worldly Wisdom Series) was published in five different formats. Format 3 books were published with imitation Morocco and came with labeled boxes.

Here is an example of that format in its box.

This 192 page book was published in 1893. It is 8.50 x 7. There are numerous line drawn full page illustrations within the book-both attributed and unattributed. It was priced a $1.00.

Abridged versions of this title are found in the Young Folks’ Quarto Series and Children’s Gift Series.

I have seen three cover variants of this title. They are in fine English cloth with an emblematic design. They differ in color and gilt on the front cover. There interiors are identical. I am unable to prioritize them.

See also Non Series #20