Henry Altemus Company

Vademecum Series

Ebay description:  BEAUTIFUL CLASSIC NOVEL *TOM BROWN'S SCHOOL DAYS

Title: - Tom Brown's School Days (Illustrated)
Written By: - Thomas Hughes
Illustrated: - Hand-drawn Illustrations
Publisher: Henry Altemus Company - Philadelphia (There is no date printed in the book but research has led me to believe it circa's around 1895.)
Size: It is 4 1/4 x 6 1/4 inches tall.
Edition: - 1st Edition

The Reality:  This is a 1904 book and again the fact that the publisher was Henry Altemus Company indicates a 1900 or later date. The seller's research obviously has been somewhat incomplete. More egregious however is the first edition claim. This book which was the first of the two Tom Brown books by Hughes- Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby published in 1857 by Ticknor and Fields. Between then and the turn of the century there were more than 50 different publishing houses that reprinted this book. These editions are well described in my Bibliography of 19th Century Children's Series Books 2003.

Vademecum Series

Ebay description:  ANTIQUE, VINTAGE BOOK~FIRST EDITION.~1890 COPYRIGHT

VINTAGE FIRST EDITION HARDCOVER BOOK,

ENTITLED "IDLE THOUGHTS OF AN IDLE FELLOW" by Jerome K. Jerome. Copyright 1890 by Henry Altemus

Philadelphia, Henry Altemus Company

The Reality:  This is a 1901 Vademecum Series book. The seller confuses the copyright date with the date of publication. The first edition was published in 1886. The first of many Altemus editions was published in 1890.

Vademecum Series

Ebay description:  THE SCARLET LETTER 2nd Ed 1850 NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE L@@K

Starting bid: US $200.00

Fantastic rare book find of a 1850 second printing of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

# Printed by the Henry Altemus Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1850
# Written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a fantastic piece of Americana
# A complete 2nd edition copy of the Scarlet Letter in hard cover

The Reality:  Seller is clearly delusional. This is a 1915 Vademecum Series book which under the best of circumstances without a jacket would bring $5-10. Note that the publisher is listed as Henry Altemus Company indicating a post-1900 publication. Altemus published no titles for reading until the 1890s. How this seller determined the erroneous 1850 date is unclear. Perhaps the preface was dated.

Vademecum Series

Ebay description:  Washington Irving, The Sketch Book,hc gld stmp,1848
Henry Altemus Company-Philadelphia

The Sketch Book
by Washington Irving
1783-1859
Henry Altemus Company-Philadelphia 1848 (printed in preface)

The Reality:  This 1905 book was part of the Vademecum Series. The fact that there is a date within the preface is of course not relevant regarding the date of a particular book. This is again a typical dating error that could have been avoided with a modicum of effort. As is frequently the case with Ebay books-Buyer Beware.

Vademecum Series

Ebay description:  Heroes and Hero Worship, Thomas Carlyle, c. 1898
Published by Henry Altemus, undated, ...Some illustrations, averages around $50.00 from dealers.

The Reality:  This book is part of the Vademecum Series. None of the books of this series are worth anything near $50. Again, as stated before, what a dealer lists a book for is frequently nowhere near the price that the book eventually sells for.

Vademecum Series

Ebay description:  This a hardcover book from 1887 written by Marietta Holley and published by Henry Altemus Company, Philadelphia and copyright 1887 by Hubbard Brothers.

The Reality:  This book was published in 1904. Altemus did no reading books before 1890. As has been noted the Henry Altemus Company was incorporated in 1900. Prior to that the firm was known as Henry Altemus.

Vademecum Series

Ebay description:  The Crucifixion of Philip Strong
by Charles M. Sheldon

Gift Copy with gilded roses on green board covers, Published by Henry Altemus Co. - Philadelphia No Copyright date found, though with research, I believe this to be circa 1898 and most likely a FIRST EDITION THUS. Small, almost mini, book about 4 3/8 " x 6 1/4" with 257 pages, plus 32 pages of Altemus book listings and several with descriptions, a virtual Book Catalog! The frontis shows a woman finding a man dead in the street forming a CROSS! It was done by Adolf Thiede in 1898 (signature shows at lower L corner)

The Reality:  This is a 1915 publication. This title was published numerous times by Altemus prior to this printing. A very little bit of research would have shown this seller that this book was post-1900. The title page shows Henry Altemus Company as the publisher. Altemus incorporated in 1900. Checking the ads would have revealed many books and series that were of a much later vintage than 1898!!

Vademecum Series

Ebay description:  Jerome, Jerome K. The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow. Circa 1894. Altemus, Philadelphia. About 6 by 5 inches, 226 pages w/ 32 pages of ads in back. This is a beautiful little book bound in a rich, green cloth and lavishly embossed with floral patterns on the cover along with a print that appears as a landscape scene. The embossed areas originally had some gold gilding, and most of it is rubbed off of the front cover though remnants of it still exist. The gold gilt still adorns the spine with the title and other designs. This book is not dated, but through research I’ve found that it was printed sometime between 1890 and 1905. Only a few copies of this edition were found in my research (5 total), so it is a rather scarce edition.

The Reality:  This book was published in between 1909-1913. This seller's research is faulty. Simple evaluation of the ads in the back would have given a good range as to the date of publication. This format is quite common and frequently found. Remember, Henry Altemus Company books are post 1900. Instantly this seller could have known that this book could not have been published prior to 1900 by just looking at the imprint on the title page.

Valenciennes Series

Ebay description:  The Sketch Book by Washington Irving 1848.

The Sketch Book By Washington Irving, Hardcover.
Publisher: Henry Altemus, Philadelphia
Small volume in fair condition. Bound in cloth, elegantly decorated with floral design on front cover. Spine moderately faded, board edges rubbed. A solid copy. The preface to this revised edition is dated 1848.

The Reality:  This book is part of the publisher's multi volume Valenciennes Series and was published in 1897. Once again a seller mistakes the preface date for the publication date. This book originally came within a labeled box.

Valenciennes Series

Ebay description:  1896, FANCHON, 1st Edition, Illustrated

Sand, George, FANCHON, Philadelphia: Henry Altemus, 1896. 1st Edition

The Reality:  This book is an 1896 Valenciennes Series book. The first American edition of Fanchon by George Sand was published in 1863 by Follett, Foster and Co. Sand died in 1876 so it is somewhat unlikely this first edition was published 20 years later.