Henry Altemus Company

Boys and Girls Classics

Ebay description:  This is for a 1900 The Little Lame Prince and His Traveling Cloak by Miss Mulock published by Henry Altemus Company Philadelphia with Twenty-four Illustrations.

The Reality:  A very common error in dating. This series of 15 books used the plates from the Young People's Library ( Series #202). This included the title page which displayed the original copyright date. Altemus used this title page for years after the actual publication date. Series #57 The Boys and Girls Classics was first published in 1908-1910 and reprinted for several years thereafter.

Wee Books for Wee Folks Series (Peter Rabbit)

Ebay description:  Potter, Beatrix. The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Philadelphia: Henry Altemus Co., 1904. FIRST PIRATED AMERICAN EDITION. Green cloth with front cover illustration in blue, navy, white and red and spine lettered in red. 123 pages. The very first of the endless series of Peter Rabbit pirate editions in the US, allowed because of Warne's failure to secure copyright, possibly the most expensive copyright error in history. With 31 full page color illustrations. A very hard to find edition.

The Reality:  This is really the second pirated American edition published by Altemus. Not especially rare. The first edition is much more uncommon. This mistake is made frequently. The problem is that Altemus never removed the original publication date from the bottom of the title page. Thus all the Peter Rabbit books published for years after the first edition look as if they are first editions. The true first which has the half vellum and picture in the oval is pictured here. By the way, the books are identical except for the covers.