Q: Hi, I have a Cricket on the Hearth book by Charles Dickens. I was wondering if you would be able to tell me more about this book. I know it’s the 1899 edition from Henry Altemus Company. But I’m wondering how I could find out how rare it is or how much it might be worth. I’ve been trying to do some research and can’t seem to find a book with the same exact cover as this one anywhere online. Any help would be very much appreciated!

A: Your book was published in 1902 as part of the Vademecum Series.

The appliqué is listed as #35 on this page: http://henryaltemus.com/vademecum.htm. More than 40 paste-ons have been seen with this book cover. It originally was sold within a labeled box.

Although a nice book, it has limited value since it is a reprint and is not widely collected.