Henry Altemus Company

The following are questions submitted via email by our visitors.

If you have a question about Altemus books that you'd like answered please click on the Questions link at the bottom left of this page.

Vademecum Series

Q:  Hi, I recently picked up a beautiful copy of Hawthorne's "Twice Told Tales" published by Altemus, but am unable to find any information on it, can you identify it and give me an approximation of its value? Thank you.

A:  This book is part of the Vademecum Series and was published in 1897. It originally came within a labeled box. It is a reprint and only has nominal value.

The 1897 Vademecum books came in a number of colors. Some are shown here.

Vademecum Series

Q:  Hello, The attached photo is of a book I found at a flea market a few years ago (The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin). The inside title page says Henry Altemus and 1895 at the bottom. I’m just wondering if it has any value? Thanks in advance!

A:  This book is part of the Vademecum Series.

All of the titles in this series are reprints. This series was published between 1894 and 1926. In the early years the cover format was changed yearly. In 1895 the basic cover was seen in a number of different colors. Shown here.

Since this reprint title is not in great demand, the book only has nominal value.

Vademecum Series

Q:  This book (A Sentimental Journey) has an inscription dated 1921 and was bought at Herz’s Bazaar, Terre Haute, Ind. It has no dust jacket and measures 6 x 4. I can’t find a similar description on your website. Thanks.

A:  This book is from the Vademecum Series and was published in 1896.

It is pictured on the website with the 1896 books.

It is one of the scarcer formats of this long running series. Most of the 1896 books have this color (or a slightly greener version). It is a reprint as are all of the titles in the Vademecum Series.

Vademecum Series

Q:  See pics belong I'm trying to date this book. Black Beauty. I've read over the site. It looks like the format 1 version until you look at the front of the book, it has a design on the front. There are multiple ads in the back. And on the spine it says Sewell and not altemus.

A:  This book is from the Vademecum Series.

This cover is the one used for this series in 1898. Numerous different color combinations were seen with this basic cover. Some are shown here.

All of the titles in this series are reprints.

Vademecum Series

Q:  Hello, I have a copy of The Last Letters of Elia but cannot find a publication date. Can you please help? There are covers and it looks lick blue roses intertwined on the front cover.

A:  Your book is part of the Vademecum Series and was published in 1897.

This publisher's series consisted only of reprinted titles. Generally the covers are distinctive and indicate what year the book was published in. Your cover is an 1897 cover. It was printed in a number of different colors. A few examples are shown on the series page.

It was originally sold in a labeled box. An example is here.

Vademecum Series

Q:  I can only send a picture of the cover with difficulty, if you might have patience...I have a small ochre book entitled Poe's Poems, published by Henry Altemus out of Philadelphia, 1895, with illustrative engravings. It has gold stripes and gold floral wreath & decorative flowers on the cover. Do you have any knowledge of this book? thank you!

A:  Your book is part of the Vademecum Series and was published in 1896.

It is a reprint.

Vademecum Series

Q:  This book has 1896 inscribed inside to Bradley from Aunt Mary. I am hoping to find out more about this book, when it was published etc. It is a copy of Black Beauty by Anna Sewell.

Appreciate any help you can provide in gaining more information about this book.

A:  Your book is part of the long running (1894-1926) Vademecum Series. This publisher's series of reprints generally had a different cover during each year of publication (up until the 1908 and later era).

Your book was published in 1896 and originally was sold within a labeled box. Several cover colors have been seen.

Vademecum Series

Q:  I have the book, Emerson's Essay's. The cover reads Emerson's Essays the spine adds First Series and the title page reads Essays By Ralph Waldo Emerson First Series Philadelphia Henry Altemus 1894.

I can't find any info on the web, can you tell me what it is worth and any other info about it?

A:  Your book is part of the Vademecum Series. It was published in 1894 and is a reprint.

During this year the cover has been seen in various colors.

In great condition this book is hard to sell. In poor condition, it has no collector value.

Vademecum Series

Q:  I don’t know if it’s of any interest, but this tome resides in my home library: Black Beauty, Henry Altemus Publishing, 4”x6” format, B&W drawings, 254 numbered pages. Yet another undated version?

A:  This book was published originally in a labeled box (a box is shown here) in 1897. All the books of the Vademecum Series (like this one) are reprints.

During 1897 this cover format was published with several different colors.

Vademecum Series

Q:  Hi! My grandmother just gave me this book (Black Beauty by Anna Sewell) and I was wondering if you could tell me when this book was published. It has an inscription inside that says 1903 so I know it is at least that old. I'm sorry I don't know what the dust jacket looked like, my grandmother didn't have it. Thank you so much!!

A:  It is part of the Vademecum Series.

It was published in 1898 and came within a labeled box. All of the books in this series are reprints. In 1898 there were numerous color covers with the same underlying format. See here for some examples.