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.

Sanspareil Series

Q:  Hello there Sir, so I'm a fairly novice book collector and recently my uncle passed and left me this beautiful Altemus book of Weird Tales. It looks like one of the later series of reprints but the 1895 copyright page confused me. Is that because when they reprinted they reprint everything including the original copyright page? Anyways any help identifying would be appreciated, thanks!

A:  This book was published in 1899 as part of the Sanspareil Series. It originally came with a dust jacket, an example of which is shown here. All the books in this series are reprints.

The 1895 on the Altemus copyright page indicates either when this title was first published by Altemus or when this edition was first published by Altemus. Unfortunately this can make it difficult to know what you have in terms of whether your book is a reprint or an actual first edition. The publisher's series' titles that Altemus published are all reprints. This includes your book.

Sanspareil Series

Q:  I just purchased this book at a vintage book shop. There is no date that I can find in the book and I am curious as to when it's from.

A:  Your book is from the Sanspareil Series (../series/series163.htm) and was published in 1899. It was part of this large publisher's series of reprints. During this year there were a number of different cover colors. The books of this series originally came with a dust jacket. A sample is shown below.

Because the books are all reprints, they have little value.

Sanspareil Series

Q:  I would like to know what series this book is or any information you can give me on this book? It's copyright date is 1895 and titled Poe's Poems. Value?

A:  Your book was published in 1899 as part of the Sanspareil Series.

See ../series/series163.htm.

It is a reprint and generally sells for only a few dollars. There are a number of Poe collectors that sometimes however will pay more than I think the book is worth.

Sanspareil Series

Q:  Can u tell me anything about this book (Black Beauty)? there are only 4 illustrations. the only color page is opposite the author page. no date. engraved cover.

A:  Your book is from the Sanspareil Series and was published in 1899. This is a publisher's series of reprints. It consists mainly of fiction, poetry, essays, etc. It originally came with a dust jacket.

See ../series/series163.htm

Since the books of this series are all reprints, except for a few special well collected titles, their value is only nominal.

Sanspareil Series

Q:  Hi - My mother recently gave my 7 year old the attached book. He is very fond of it and carries it everywhere. I am worried that it may be more valuable than she readily is aware and should be reshelved. Could you possibly take a look and let me know the history in regards the book?

A:  Your book was published in 1899 as part of the Sanspareil Series.
See Series 163

It only has nominal value so carrying it around won't hurt its value.

Sanspareil Series

Q:  I am wondering if you can help me establish the value of Oliver Wendell Holmes’ “Autocrat of the Breakfast Table” published by Altemus in 1899 as a part of the Sanspareil Series (later numbering).

Cover from your own website (below) matches the cover of the copy I have.

A:  Although you have a nice book, it generally does not sell for more than a few dollars. Generally speaking, unless the title is in great demand (not here), these publisher's series reprints without original boxes or dust jackets have little value.

For more on this series see Sanspareil Series

Sanspareil Series

Q:  Good evening,

I have a very nice hardbound copy of Black Beauty published by Henry Altemus Philadelphia. I am attaching a picture of the book--beautiful cover.

Can you help my by telling me the approximate date of publication on this book????

A:  Your book is part of the multivolume, multiauthored publisher's series called the Sanspareil Series. This series was published in 1898 and 1899. Your book was published in 1899. It originally had a dust jacket.

Shakespeare's Plays

Q:  I have a collection of these books that were my grandparents.  There is an inscription that says Frank Wright Hamline University December 1907, so I know that the books are at least that old, but know little more as there is no publication date.  My guess is Hamline used them as textbooks maybe?

A:  This set of 39 books was published by Altemus between 1899 and 1933. The books originally had dust jackets and some were sold in large box sets. There are a number of different formats and they are well described on the website page noted below.

The Shakespeare Play books are among the most commonly found Altemus publications. They generally do not sell or, if they do, for a couple of dollars each.
See: Shakespeare's Plays

Shakespeare's Plays

Q:  I have a number of Shakespeare plays published by your company, the attached being one of them (As You Like It). Can you tell me anything about this one, especially the date? I believe they were all purchased around the same time and have identical cloth covers. Thank you!

A:  Your books were published between 1906-1933. They are Format 7 in the Shakespeare’s Plays Series.

See: http://henryaltemus.com/series/series164.htm

This is the most commonly seen format in a very common series.

There is nothing that distinguishes the books in this format regarding actual date of publication.

Shakespeare's Plays

Q:  Hi. I am curious about the age and value of this book. King Henry VI Part 3.

A:  This series of 39 titles was published by Altemus between 1899 and 1933. Your book looks like a Format 7 title. These books were published between 1906 and 1933.

For more information see: Shakespeare's Plays