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Anyone can list a book on Ebay. Although most people attempt to describe their books accurately, not infrequently the descriptions are incorrect. Unsophisticated buyers may pay much more for the book than it is actually worth. This section will review some of the inaccurate descriptions and give the correction.

 

Click thumbnail images to enlarge.

 

Ebay Description Errors:
Date Series Num Information
01 May 2007 38

Altemus Library

Ebay description:  The Man Without a Country Edward Everett Hale 1st ed.

Published by the Henry Altemus Company in Philadelphia, PA in 1908. First edition of the famous novella by the grand-nephew of the famous Revolutionary spy Nathan Hale. The story was originally published anonymously in the Atlantic Monthly magazine in 1863, to foster patriotism in the North during the Civil War. This classic tale has been made into a movie four times, including the well known 1937 version and a made-for-tv version in 1973.


The Reality:  This series (books #1-5) was first published beginning in 1913. This title was #8out of 8 in the series and was published in 1914. The first edition of The Man Without a Country was published by Ticknor and Fields in 1865.


16 Jun 2007 47

Beauxarts Series

Ebay description:  Weird Tales by Edgar Allen Poe
Special Attributes:
1st Edition

Printing Year:
1895

Edgar Allen Poe's Weird Tales. In a beautifully gold embossed hard cover. Copywritten 1895 first edition by Henry Altemus. This book is in good condition with slightly yellowed pages and a small fracture in the binding. Absolutely a must for the true collector.


The Reality:  This book was published in 1897 and therefore is not even the Altemus first. This title is one of the most hyped Altemus titles on the web. Altemus published Weird Tales in numerous series which accounts for its prevalence.

This book consists of a collection of 14 short stories by Poe. None of them appear in print for the first time in the Altemus published book. The first time Altemus published this collection was in 1895. It was published simultaneously in The Altemus Library (#37), Fairmount Series (#83), Laurel Series (#119), and the Vademecum Series (#179).

Previously Poe's works had been published by Widdington in 1876 and by Stone and Kimball in 1894. These are multi volume sets which include everything in the Altemus books and much more.

Thus Weird Tales is a compilation of short stories that have been published numerous times before. Frequently, this Altemus title brings real dollars but usually the bidding is done by unsophisticated buyers who are unaware of the common nature of the book and are also unaware of its reprint status.


20 May 2007 47

Beauxarts Series

Ebay description:  Antique 1865 Book: THOUGHTS OF THE EMPEROR, Delux Print
By MARCUS AURELIUS ANIONINUS. Highly Collectable
Antique book 1865

THOUGHTS OF THE EMPEROR
By Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
Translated by George Long
Publised by Henry Altemus Philadelphia
Year:
No publication date found on the book. But we did many researches about this book:

1.This book’s Publisher HENRY ALTEMUS PHILADELPHIA changed the name to HENRY ALTEMUS COMPANY since 1900.
2. We asked the expert, this book was print in between 1842 -1880

3. This book was a gift, there is the name written on the first page, and a “65”. So we strongly believe this book was published before 1865


The Reality:  This is an 1897 book which was published as part of the Beauxarts Series. Hard to know what expert and what "researches" they asked and did but clearly neither was very accurate. Altemus published no reading books before 1890.

How the presence of the number 65 written on the first page means it was published earlier than 1865 is a total mystery. It could just as easily signified the likely value of the book- about $6.50. This seller listed this book at an opening bid of $25. Good luck!


01 Apr 2007 47

Beauxarts Series

Ebay description:  1898 THE SONG OF HIAWATHA by LONGFELLOW 1st Ed.

THE SONG OF HIAWATHA
by H. W. LONGFELLOW

Copyright 1898 Henry Altemus 1st Edition!!!


The Reality:  The first American edition of this book was published by Ticknor and Fields in 1855. Henry Altemus published this title as a reprint numerous times. In 1898 it was published as part of the Beauxarts and the Vademecum (#179) Series. The Beauxarts book is shown here.


06 Oct 2006 47

Beauxarts Series

Ebay description:  DREAM LIFE by IK MARVEL / MITCHELL ANTIQUE BOOK 1851
DREAM LIFE: A FABLE OF THE SEASONS
IK MARVEL/ DONALD G. MITCHELL
HENRY ALTEMUS PUBLISHER PHILADELPHIA.

There's no formal copyright I can find but there is the notation of, "H. A. 1842" on the page that I took a picture of. Wikipedia says it was written in 1851, though. In any case, it IS, at least 155 years old & it's in amazingly good condition! There are 296 pages. It measures: 6-1/4" x 4-1/2" x 3/4


The Reality:  This book was published in 1897 as part of of Beauxarts Series. The H.A. 1842 the seller refers to is seen on the title page within a design and indicates the year -1842- that H(enry) A(ltemus) started his company. See the section of the sample title page. Note the initials on the left and the date on the right. This title page frequently confuses people and causes Altemus books to be erroneously described as being published in 1842.


07 Oct 2007 48

Beauxarts Series

Ebay description:  1879 Kept For The Masters Use by Frances R Havergal

The Reality:  This is a 1900 published book. Where the 1879 came from is a mystery.


10 Jul 2009 57

Boys and Girls' Classics (new)

Ebay description:  Vtg Through the Looking Glass Lewis Carroll Book 1897 is from the Altemus Young People's Library series. I do not know if it is a first edition.

The Reality:  During the publication run of late Format 2 (and early Format 3) of the ubiquitous Young People's Library (http://henryaltemus.com/ypl/index.htm) Altemus used a title page that noted the copyright date. This title page was used for several other series including the one to which this book belongs to. The only difference between books of the Boys and Girls Classics series and the Young People's Library is the cover and the box that the book came in.

In most instances when a publisher has a date on the title page it indicates the actual date of publication of that book and that is why most sellers get fooled by this Altemus title page date. Upon closer inspection Altemus is telling us when the book has the Altemus copyright. And of course the Altemus copyright is not necessarily the same as the date of publication.

The linen cloth cover seen here is part of a larger swatch of cloth that was used to cover some of the books of this series. http://henryaltemus.com/series/series57.htm Publication dates were from 1908-1926. This cover was seen between 1908 and the early teens. The books also came boxed.


17 Jan 2008 57

Boys and Girls Classics Series

Ebay description:  Black Beauty by Anna Sewell c.1897 with 50 illustrations

The earliest black beauty I have ever seen, and I have seen a few. 1897 copy Black Beauty, the autobiography of a horse. by Anna Sewell with 50 illustrations. 1 color the rest in black, copyright 1897 by Henry Altemus Philadelphia. Hard cover in ok condition, binding good, pages good, 250 pages, low starting bid, really early for this book.


The Reality:  This book is from the Boys and Girls Classics Series which was a 15 book series published first in 1908 and reprinted for many years later. The books of this series used the earlier plates from the Altemus Young People's Library. This seller confuses the copyright date which is on the title page with the publication date. If the seller studied the ads in the back of the book, the date of the book would have been obvious.

The linen covers of this series varied and many patterns have been seen. The books originally came within a labeled floral decorated box.


11 Dec 2006 57

Boys and Girls Classics

Ebay description:  SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON 1899 FIRST EDITION

Author: Henry Altemus

Publisher: Henry Altemus Company

Published: 1899- First Edition


The Reality:  This book was part of the Boys and Girls Classics which were published beginning in 1908 and reprinted for numerous years thereafter. The title page is from the Young People's Library which states 1899 making the dating of this book somewhat confusing. But simple research easily reveals the actual date of the very rare first edition.


10 Jul 2006 57

Boys and Girls Classics

Ebay description:  This is for a 1900 The Little Lame Prince and His Traveling Cloak by Miss Mulock published by Henry Altemus Company Philadelphia with Twenty-four Illustrations.

The Reality:  A very common error in dating. This series of 15 books used the plates from the Young People's Library ( Series #202). This included the title page which displayed the original copyright date. Altemus used this title page for years after the actual publication date. Series #57 The Boys and Girls Classics was first published in 1908-1910 and reprinted for several years thereafter.


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