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.

Ever New Books for Young People

Q:  Good evening. I was curious as to how much a book like this is worth. It does not have a dust cover. It has slight wear but is in good shape.

A:  Your book is part of the Ever New Books for Young People Series.

See http://henryaltemus.com/series/series82.htm

It is one of the more uncommon Altemus Series. As you can see on the site, I still do not have most of the books in this series (because of their scarcity). These books are slightly different from the much more common Young People's Library books because they are slightly larger and they have the little squiggle design at the base of the front cover.

Even with this scarcity your book does not have much value ($5-15). A Black Beauty collector might pay more.

Famous Red and White Books

Q:  Hi, I just bought this book at an auction. It was among a lot of books. Can you tell me anything about it?

I can send you other pictures if you need them.

Thanks,

A:  Your book is part of Series #85. See http://henryaltemus.com/series/series85.htm

This was one of Altemus' early series. Despite its age, this book is fairly common and has only nominal value.

Favorite Series

Q:  I was given these (Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass) a few years back when my grandfather passed away I was told they were his mothers, they seem to be in really good shape no tears in the bindings or pages what is it that I have here.

A:  Your books are part of the Favorite Series (http://henryaltemus.com/series/series87.htm).

They are somewhat uncommon and a nice set of "Alice" books. They are reprints but since they are in nice shape they would be desirable to Alice collectors.

The title page of these books say "Young People's Library". Several Altemus series used the Young People's Library interiors with different covers. This is an example of that.

Favorite Series

Q:  An donation came to a local charity and I wish to possibly sell it for them. Another volunteer is also interested in it, but the charity needs a value for this book.....They have no Internet for this, so I'm volunteering my services..

One thing that was very interesting about the book is the great grandmother placed a letter inside it to give to her grandson and mentions that this was passed down through the years and she was giving it to him for Xmas. She mentioned it was a hard to find book and a valuable book. The story behind this was so sweet and it shows how some of today's youth really don't read the past history that much and treasure the past. Instead there is video games and other neat things in their life..It is a shame to not keep this old book, and he really didn't want it, so here it is at the donation site..I think that is one thing about the book more than anything was that letter and it's history and story behind the book.

Columbus and The Discovery of America..I wish to get a value on this book and where there is a good site to sell it. The only problem I see is the date page is detached, other than that it is in good condition. Any neat info would be appreciated also..I see the cover is different than what your web site pictured...

A:  Your book is part of the Favorite Series and was published between 1902-1910 (Format 2). http://henryaltemus.com/series/series87.htm

Even in great condition this book is hard to sell. There just is not much interest in this title.

Favorite Series for Young People

Q:  Hi there, We were wondering if is copy of "THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS" has any value whatsoever? The book is very worn and was given as a gift to Hugh Sefton in 1902 as Christmas present.

A:  Ordinarily this title would be sought after because of the highly collectible nature of the Lewis Carroll Alice books. The books from this 19 book series (Favorite Series for Young People http://henryaltemus.com/series/series87.htm) are much less common than those from the Young People's Library and those books frequently sell for more than $50. Unfortunately because your book is in such poor condition, only a novice book collector would pay more than a few dollars for it.

Favorite Series

Q:  I have a copy of Alice in Wonderland from 1897. I was wondering what you could tell me about this book. It has forty-two illustrations in it, and looks like it is in good shape. I was wondering if it worth holding on too and passing down or is it a common book?

A:  Nice book. It is part of the Favorite Series (See: http://henryaltemus.com/series/series87.htm)

It was published in 1900 or 1901. Originally it had a dust jacket.

This Alice in Wonderland book is much scarcer than the very common Alice from the Young People's Library that seemingly is always for sale by someone on Ebay.

It's value can vary based on who sees the book advertised.

I would think $20-100 would be fair although I have seen it get no offers and have seen a price higher than $100.

Gem Series (earlier)

Q:  We have a Henry Altemus Company book that we can’t find on your website. The book is The Vicar of Wakefield. The title page has “Philadelphia Henry Altemus Company” printed in red type. Can you tell us about its date of printing? Approximate value?

A:  Your book can be found here: http://www.henryaltemus.com/series/series91.htm

It has only nominal value.

(Of note is that shortly after this reader's question was answered she placed this book on Ebay with a minimum bid of $35. Of course, barring a miracle it will sell at nowhere near this price. Predictably it received no bids.)

Gem Series

Q:  I recently purchased a book (The Crown of Wild Olive) by Author John Ruskin, which was published by Henry Altemus Company in Philadelphia. I did not see this title mentioned on your website as being one which was published in 1893, when the publishing company did a number of volumes in English calfskin. However, my volume is bound entirely in English calfskin, and it has a gold leaf imprint on the cover as well. Additionally of interest, several of the pages are also not separated (meaning that the publisher did not cut apart the paper after the paper was folded over and bound). I've attached a few photos to show you what I mean.

I was researching the publishing company so that I could best determine a publication year for my volume. I am a collector and do not intend to sell it, however I like to catalogue my books with their publishing information. Please let me know if you have any thoughts or comments on the publication date.

A:  Your book is part of the Gem Series and was published in 1913-1914.

See http://henryaltemus.com/series/series92.htm

Altemus published this title numerous times. If you put the title into the index, you will see a listing.

Altemus did not publish any books with the soft ooze calf (like your book) in 1893.

Gold Dust Series

Q:  Dear Expert! I have an old book "Gold Dust A Collection of Golden Counsels" that I received from my grandmother. It has a suede cover but no publishing date. Do you have any idea of it's age? Thanks...Mary

A:  Your book is part of the ten volume Gold Dust Series. (http://henryaltemus.com/series/series95.htm) This series of reprints was published between 1912 and 1918. This book originally all came in a labeled box.

Generally, these books have only nominal value.

Golden Books of Childhood

Q:  Is this an original for Altemus publishing (The Children's Shakespeare)?

A:  No. Your book is part of the three volume series- Golden Books of Childhood. It was published in 1916. It is a large book measured at 8.75 x 6.75. This title was published earlier by Altemus in 1900 in the Dainty Series http://henryaltemus.com/series/series74.htm in a very different appearing format.