Q: Hello. I have a book titled Natural Law in the Spiritual World. I don’t know the date of this book, or which edition it is. Would you happen to know? Also, do you know the value of a book like this? Please see attached pictures, and thank you so much for any information you may be able to provide.

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

This title is a reprint as are all of the titles in this series. It has nominal value only.

Q: I have failed to locate my 1884 Altemus Bible among the photos on your website. Attached is a picture of its cover and title page. I am seeking a source for an approximate current value of the Bible in a “good” condition. The Bible pictured in the attachment suffered water damage.
I would appreciate any source you might direct me to.

A: Altemus published Bibles on its own imprint as well as for other entities from the 1870’s until the turn of the century. Most of these Bibles were large heavy volumes which have not held up well over the years. The weight of the Bible has generally been too much for the binding to support. As of this time I have identified for than 60 different Altemus Bible covers.

These Bibles contain various combinations of ten different textual features. For details see http://www.henryaltemus.com/bibles/bibles.htm

Your Bible is similar to B5. In great shape these Bibles rarely sell for more than $100. In poor shape, they are hard to sell.

Q: I have the book as pictured which I would like to sell on ebay. According to the documentation I read on your site which is excellent. I believe it is before 1900 the title page says Henry Altemus.
I would like to list it accurately. Some of the pages are stained and in front the name Myra D. Havens, one of the pages has a tear but all the pages are intact and not loose. Any help you can provide would be appreciated. Through the Looking Glass

A: This book is part of the Boys and Girls Classics (old) Series.

These books were published between 1899 and 1906. You are right to identify your volume as one that was published in 1899 since the imprint is Henry Altemus and not Henry Altemus Company (The incorporation year was 1900).

Each volume was originally published within a rather plain labeled box. An example is shown below.

Q: I have a poor condition book published by Henry Altemus Company Philadelphia ..the back of the first page says copyright 1930 by Howard E. Altemus Printed in the United States …it is called The Little Black Sambo Story Book by Helen Bannerman and Frank Ver Beck with illustrations by the authors…I have searched and cannot find the book with the title most that I have found are the story of Little Black Sambo I hope you have some more information.

A: This book is part of Series #70, the Colorful Story Books Series. It was published in 1930.

The six books in this series are each comprised of four or five abridged stories (books) from the various Wee Books for Wee Folks’ Series. Each volume was published with a colorful dust jacket. See below.

Platt and Munk later reprinted all the titles.

This series of 12 books was first published in 1903. It was reprinted for a number of years. Good Time Series

Each book has the same decorations above and below the title on the spine. Thus even without the dust jacket which clearly indicates the series, the volumes can be identified. Several of these titles have been seen with two different line drawn illustrated covers. Most all of the books have been seen with different color cover versions of the first format.

Today I am adding to the data base a later edition of the first format cover of book #8-Miss Toosey’s Mission. The interior of the book is exactly the same as the earlier first edition as well as the later cover copy.

These are pictured below.

This is the earliest cover	This is the later edition of the first format cover. Note the spine decorations above and below the title.

This is the later cover	Here is the dust jacket of the earliest cover format

Q: A CHILD’S GARDEN OF VERSES
Stevenson, Robert Louis
Published by Henry Altemus Company, Philadelphia
Cant find anything on this one no dates.

A: This book is part of the Boys and Girls Classics Series.

This particular cover was published in the early and mid-teens. The fifteen titles in this series are all reprints and were sold within labeled floral covered boxes.

This cover is part of a larger picture which is shown below.

Q: My book cover seems to fit the 1912 Era but not sure. The Chimes. There is no publish date and no ads in the back. Would love to know more about the book please. Looking for publish date, and I guess value too etc.. Thank you so much for your time. I love old books as I do much of things from history.

A: This format was seen with both the Classics Series and the Slip-in-the-Pocket Series. The exact series cannot be determined without a dust jacket.

This book was published in the 1907-1915 time range. It is a reprint.

In this condition it has little, if any, value.

Today I am adding a new picture to the database for this series.

The Young People’s Library has four formats. They are easily distinguished by the spine decoration. The third format which was published between 1902 and 1923 has the spines shown below.

Two different dust jackets and two different color covers have been seen for Aesop’s Fables (#7 in this series).

The earlier jacket has green clouds behind the bird whereas in the other jacket the clouds are brown.

The earlier cover is blue while the later one is light tan.

Leinbach and Bro. was a clothier in Reading, Pennsylvania. Each year from 1892 to 1915 this firm would give away Altemus books as a promotion.

An advertisement for the store was placed in the front and the back of the book. These ads were changed yearly. Examples of the books and ads are shown here: http://www.henryaltemus.com/ephemera/leinbach.htm

Today I am adding to the Leinbach section an 1892 book.

Q: I have a Henry Altemus Rip Van Winkle book and have done some research on your website. It appears to be a Series 58 or 59. It says “Henry Altemus Company” on the Title Page. However, I see that you suggested to another person to look in the back of the book and date some of those books to see what year the book is. I’m not sure how to go about doing this as there are so many books listed. I’d like to see what my book may be worth. Any help you could afford me is greatly appreciated!!

A: Hello,
Regardless of the date it has little value. This book is in rather poor shape.

Regarding dating your book:
It was published between 1900 and 1906. To be more exact–
Start here:
Look at the ads in the back. Then look at this page: Boys and Girls Classics
See where it says Formats 1 and 3. Follow the directions.