J. B. Lippincott Advertising Calendar 1882

Well, over the last couple of months I have shown a number of different types of publishers' advertising. Most recently advertising covers but also pamphlets, salesman samples, postcards, etc. One form of promotion that is still prevalent today is the calendar. I don't know about you but I get a ton of them every year. Insurance guys, banks, charities and the like all send me their calendars.

Here is a nice example of a calendar from J.B. Lippincott and Co. One of the major Philadelphia publishers of the 19th and 20th centuries which began its work in 1836. Joshua Ballinger Lippincott worked in the industry until going out on his own. In 1850 he bought Grigg, Elliot and Company and changed his firm name from J.B., Lippincott to Lippincott, Grambo and Company. When Grambo retired in 1855, the company was renamed J.B. Lippincott and Company. This firm name was not changed until 1885 when it became J.B. Lippincott Company.

Lippincott has continued as a major power in American publishing. As with many publishers, it also printed stationary, ledgers, blank books and other miscellany.

This attractive calendar is from 1882 and thus the appropriate imprint of J.B. Lippincott and Company


This is the Lippincott building
between 1863 and 1900.

W. L. Allison and Company 19th Century Dust Jacket

I believe that most all books after 1880 were originally published with dust jackets and/or in boxes. The fact that the examples are hard to locate does not negate the premise.

Here is a dust jacketed book published by the W. L. Allison Company.

William L Allison (1832-1893) opened his publishing door in 1869 as the successor to T. O'Kane. Initially he used the W.L. Allison imprint. In 1890 the Allison plates were purchased by the Lovell's who organized the United States Book Company. Lovell's organization went broke soon after but by 1894 the Allison Company was up and running as the William L. Allison Company. It is unclear to me who was running the company since W.L. Allison was dead and buried. Nonetheless it continued to publish books until 1900.

In 1900 W.L. Allison sold all of their plates to the Donohue Brothers which continued most of the Allison series.

This book was published sometime between 1898 (when Adventures in Cuba was printed and 1900 when Allison met its demise). The dust jacket is typical for the era with fragile brownish colored paper and a design that matches the book. An excellent example of a 19th century dust jacket on a W.L. Allison Company book.

Libraries

This is not an official post but I was sent this link by a friend and thought anyone interested in books would like to see these unbelievable libraries. There are three pages of them.
http://justinmenard.ca/2009/08/12/beautiful-libraries-1/

N. Tibbals and Sons Publishing House

Tibbals and Sons was a New York City publishing firm which specialized in religious books. The firm which was begun in about 1848 by Nathan Tibbals added two sons, Nathan V. and John A.J. Tibbals in 1871. The firm sold to ministers internationally.

The founder, Nathan Tibbals (1815-1897) was a methodist minister. Because of a poorly described "throat affliction" he retired from the ministry after a short fifteen year career. He subsequently embarked on his publishing career.

Son John A. J. Tibbals (1849-1932) joined the firm as a young man. After the death of his father the firm was renamed N.D. Tibbals Book Company. He retired from the firm in 1917.

Here is a very nice trade card. It was issued at Christmas in 1883.

Donohoue and Henneberry Advertising Cover

No matter what type of ephemera someone is collecting it. An area that I do not know much about is advertising covers. As you probably do know, my interest is in books and related items. So it is no wonder that there is a crossover between my interests and envelopes, err, I mean advertising covers. Since I thought from time to time I would show an interesting advertising cover, I figured that I should know something about them.
There is a nice site which reviews the terminology :
http://alphabetilately.com/A.html Hopefully I will not mess up too badly in describing these items.

Shown here is a great cover from Donohue and Henneberry. Based on the site noted above I think it is a "topical advertising cover". Its building is shown in addition a mention of its "Red Line Series" was made. This series is the only printing done by the company in the 1880's. The Red Line Series remained popular into the 1890's. The Red Line Series however was not a series of reading books. It was rather a series of school registers, report cards, diplomas, receipt books and the like. In fact the Donohue and Henneberry 1889 catalogue lists four pages of this kind of "red line" item for sale.

Early on this company was a bookbinder only. From 1871-1878 they were Donohue, Wilson and Henneberry and as a bookbinder was succeeded by Donohue and Henneberry. The publisher came to be in 1890 as Donohue, Henneberry and Company. In 1900 they were succeeded by Donohue Brothers as Michael A. Donohue went in one direction and William F. Henneberry went in another becoming Henneberry Company. In 1901 Donohue Brothers became M.A. Donohue. Throughout the 1800's they were located at the Dearborn address in Chicago.

In addition to publishing and binding books, they manufactured office supplies-pads of paper, pencils, crayons, clips, etc.

Salesman Sample- Peck's Bad Boy

In the late 19th century and the early parts of the twentieth century books were sold door to door. An enterprising salesman would travel about his territory attempting to sell the latest and upcoming titles. To do this he would carry with him sample books.

The sample books generally had mock ups of several bindings, covers, pages from the books and order forms. The salesman's sample here has two covers. On the front is the cover and spine for Peck's Bad Boy Abroad published first by Thompson and Thomas in 1905. On the reverse is the cover for Peck's Bad Boy and His Pa Complete and Compendium of Fun. This latter book is an edition which contains Peck's Bad boy No.1, No.2, and Peck's Sunshine.


As can be seen on the order sheet, these books come with various bindings and costs. There is a place for the salesman to record the names of the buyers. Our salesman sold eight books in Lancaster. Perhaps Lancaster, Pennsylvania but no state is noted.

The sample book within the covers is the Abroad book. Numerous illustrations are included and the book goes to page 425 with liberal sections missing. I would estimate that there are about 75-100 pages.

Although Thompson and Thomas, a Chicago Publisher printed the actual books, the salesman's sample was published by the American Publishing House in Chicago.


There is a reference book which reviews this type of "canvassing book".
It is Canvassing Books, Sample Books, and Subscription Publishers' Ephemera 1833-1951
in the Collection of Michael Zinman by Keith Arbour. 1996

American Boys Series by Lee and Shepard

These are the Format 1
book covers














Yesterday I talked about the Live Boys Series published by Lee and Shepard. One of the profound things about that two book series is the price the books command.
When I mentioned that these two titles appeared in several of the Lee and Shepard publisher's series, I was reminded how easy it is to be fooled when purchasing on line even when you have a picture

This is the Format 2 cover with a dust jacket.

What I though I would do is show what I mean using the American Boys Series as an example. This series ran from 1898 to 1906. There were 100 titles and all were reprints of previously published Lee and Shepard books. The series began with 25 titles and new volumes were added almost every year. Although each of the formats state the American Boys Series somewhere on the cover or spine, some of the books have no publication dates within the book or in the ads. Instead only the original copyright appears on the copyright page.

So it is possible that a buyer may purchase a book which he/she thinks is a first or early edition yet is really just a late reprint. Now in fairness some of the American Boys Series books do list a date that books were added to the series but the other publishers' series generally list only the original copyright date. Those other series include Mayflower Series for Girls, Pilgrims Series for Boys. Star Series, Choice Adventure Series and Norwood Series and the Patriotic Series for Boys and Girls.
So you buy an Optic, Kellogg, Morecamp, DeMille, Kingston, Optic, etc, authored book advertised as an original early book and you get stuck.

Here is an example of a sale's ad from a book search site:

Up the North Branch or A Summer's Outing Being the Record of a Camping-Out Trip Up the North Branch of the Penobscot and Down the St. John River Through the Wilds of Maine and New Brunswick, By Members of the "Lake and Forest Club"
Farrar, Capt. Charles A. J.
Lee and Shepard, 1888. Hardcover. Book Condition: Good. 1st Edition. Red/yellow/tan/black illustrated boards showing boy with bicycle, young man in graduation cap and gown with steamer ship in yellow background. $250







This is the Format 3 Dust jacket cover.





You will note that the description above matches the second format of the American Boys Series described below. It is book #84 and was published between 1902-1904.
Value maybe $10-15 not $250. Buyer beware!!

The American Boys Series formats are shown here. They all were dust jacketed.
I have seen three formats. The first was used from 1898 to 1901 when the first 65 books were published. The second format was published between 1902 and 1905 and books 66 -95 were added. Format 3 was published in 1906 when books numbered 96-100 were published. (The 1906 books were Lothrop, Lee and Shepard books)

As times goes on I will go over all the other Lee and Shepard publisher's series.


New Titles for 1898- #1-25
1. Adrift in the Ice Fields- Capt. Chas. W. Hall
2. All Aboard, or Life on the Lake- Oliver Optic
3. Ark of Elm Island- Elijah Kellogg
4. Arthur Brown the Young Captain- Elijah Kellogg
5. Boat Club- Oliver Optic
6. Boy Farmers of Elm Island- Elijah Kellogg
7. Boys of Grand Pre School- Proof. James DeMille
8. B.O.W.C.- Prof. James DeMille
9. Brought to the Front- Elijah Kellogg
10. Burying the Hatchet- Elijah Kellogg
11. Cast Away in the Cold- Dr. Isaac I. Hayes
12. Charlie Bell the Waif of Elm Island- Elijah Kellogg
13. Child of the Island Glen- Elijah Kellogg
14. Crossing the Quicksands- Samuel W. Cozzens
15. Cruise of the Casco- Elijah Kellogg
16. Fire in the Woods- Prof. James DeMille
17. Fisher Boys of Pleasant Cove- Elijah Kellogg
18. Forest Glen- Elijah Kellogg
19. Good Old Times- Elijah Kellogg
20. Handscrabble of Elm Island- Elijah Kellogg
21. Haste or Waste- Oliver Optic
22. Hope and Have- Oliver Optic
23. In School and Out- Oliver Optic
24. John Godsoe’s Legacy- Elijah Kellogg
25. Just His Luck- Oliver Optic

NEW TITLES FOR 1899
26. Lion Ben of Elm Island- Elijah Kellogg
27. Little by Little- Oliver Optic
28. Live Oak Boys- Elijah Kellogg
29. Lost in the Fog- Prof. James DeMille
30. Mission of the Black Rifle- Elijah Kellogg
31. Now or Never- Oliver Optic
32. Poor and Proud- Oliver Optic
33. Rich and Humble- Oliver Optic
34. Sophomores of Radcliffe- Elijah Kellogg
35. Sowed by the Wind- Elijah Kellogg
36. Spark of Genius- Elijah Kellogg
37. Stout Heart- Elijah Kellogg
38. Strong Arm and a Mother’s Blessing- Elijah Kellogg
39. Treasure of the Sea- Prof. James DeMille
40. Try Again- Oliver Optic
41. Turning of the Tide- Elijah Kellogg
42. Unseen Hand- Elijah Kellogg
43. Watch and Wait- Oliver Optic
44. Whispering Pine- Elijah Kellogg
45. Winning His Spurs- Elijah Kellogg
46. Wolf Run- Elijah Kellogg
47. Work and Win- Oliver Optic
48. Young Deliverers of Pleasant Cove- Elijah Kellogg
49. Young Shipbuilders of Elm Island- Elijah Kellogg
50. Young Trail Hunters- Samuel W. Cozzens


NEW TITLES FOR 1900
51. Field and Forest- Oliver Optic
52. Outward Bound- Oliver Optic
53. The Soldier Boy- Oliver Optic
54. The Starry Flag- Oliver Optic
55. Through by Daylight- Oliver Optic
56. Cruises with Captain Bob Around the Kitchen Fire- B. P. Shillaber
57. The Double-Runner Club- B. P. Shillaber
58. Ike Partington and His Friends- B. P. Shillaber
59. Locke Amsden the Schoolmaster- Judge D. P. Thompson
60. The Rangers- Judge D. P. Thompson

NEW TITLES FOR 1901
61. The Green Mountain Boys- Judge D. P. Thompson
62. A Missing Million- Oliver Optic
63. A Millionaire at Sixteen- Oliver Optic
64. A Young Knight Errant- Oliver Optic
65. Strange Sights Abroad- Oliver Optic

NEW TITLES FOR 1902
66. Facing the Enemy; Life of Gen. Sherman- P. C. Headley
67. Fight it Out on This Life; The Life and Deeds of Gen. Grant- P. C. Headley
68. Fighting Phil; The Life of Gen. Sheridan- P. C. Headley
69. Old Salamander; The Life of Admiral David Farragut- P.C. Headley
70. Old Stars; The Life of Gen. Mitchel- P. C. Headley
71. The Miner Boy and His Monitor; The Career of John Ericsson- P. C. Headley
72. The Young Silver Seekers- Samuel W. Cozzens
73. Drake the Sea King of Devon- George Makepeace Towle
74. Magellan- George Marepeace Towle
75. Marco Polo; His Travels and Adventures- George Makepeace Towle
76. Pizarro, His Adventures and Conquests- George Makepeace Towle
77. Raleigh, His Voyages and Adventures- George Makepeace Towle
78. Vasco de Gama- George Marepeace Towle
79. The Heroes and Martyrs of Invention- George Makepeace Towle
80. Live Boys- Arthur Morecamp
81. Live Boys in the Black Hills- Arthur Morecamp
82. Down the West Branch- Capt. C. A. J. Farrar
83. Eastwards Ho!- Capt. C. A. J. Farrar
84. Up the North Branch- Capt. C. A. J. Farrar
85. Wild Woods Life- Capt. C. A. J. Farrar

NEW TITLES FOR 1903
86. Child of the Tide- Mrs. E. D. Cheney
87. The Boys of Thirty-Five- E. H. Elwell
88. Perseverance Island- Douglas Frazar
89. Going West- Oliver Optic
90. Little Bobtail- Oliver Optic

NEW TITLES FOR 1904
91. Fore and Aft- Robert B. Dixon
92. Pocket Island- Charles Clark Munn
93. Donald’s School Days- Gen. O. O. Howard
94. Henry in the Way- Gen. O. O. Howard
95. All Adrift- Oliver Optic

NEW TITLES FOR 1906
96. Aguinaldo’s hostage- H. Irving Hancock
97. Six Young Hunters- W. Gordon Parker
98. Grant Burton- W. Gordon Parker
99. Rival Boy Sportsmen- W. Gordon Parker
100. Up the Baltic- Oliver Optic

The Live Boys Series by Arthur Morecamp

Although Lee and Shepard published hundreds of juvenile books in series from the 1860's until 1904, most of them of totally forgotten. Despite many famous authors and well known titles, not many of their books are worth decent sums of money by collectors. There are exceptions though and here a a couple.

Thomas Pilgrim, a Texas attorney, writing with the pseudonym of Arthur Morecamp, wrote two books about the adventures of two boys in the West.

1. Live Boys or, Charley and Nasho in Texas 1878
2. Live Boys in the Black Hills or, The Young Texan Gold Hunters 1880


The first book is perhaps the earliest portrayal of working cowboys and a cattle drive. In other words, maybe the first cowboy novel. The two main characters are fourteen year old Texan Charley and his pal Nasho , Mexican. The second book also tells the adventures of the two boys on a Texas cattle drive as well as their experiences with gold hunters, Indians and a disappearance during a snowstorm.

These books are juvenile series books but yet they are widely sought after by western collectors because they are the first cowboy and trail drive books. Also each book may very well be the first hard back book about cowboys in thee respective locales.

The early editions with the diagonal line across the cover are the important books. I have seen prices up to $1000 for each of these book. Later Lee and Shepard published these titles in the several of their publisher's series. In the American Boys Series they were 1902 additions. The two books were also part of the Choice Books of Adventure and the Norwood Series. The latter two series also being multi authored multi volume series. More about these series in the future.

George W. Childs and His Cigars

What do George W. Childs the Philadelphia publisher and George W. Peck the author and former governor of Wisconsin have in common? They both had their own brand of cigars.

Today I thought I would briefly discuss the life of George Childs and show an interesting bit of Childs' ephemera.


Here is a picture of the Philadelphia Ledger Building


George Childs (1829-1894) started his work career at the age of 14 in a local Philadelphia book store. This followed a fifteen month stint in the U.S. Navy. In 1852 he joined with Robert Evans Peterson and the name of the company became R.E. Peterson and Company. The name was changed to Childs and Peterson in 1854 succeeding the house of R.E. Peterson and Company. By 1862 the firm was known as George W. Childs. Perhaps the most well known book of the former firm was Arctic Explorations by Dr. Kane

In 1863 Childs purchased the American Literary Gazette and Publishers Circular

In about 1864 Peterson retired and at that time with a partner Childs bought the Philadelphia Public Ledger which was a local city newspaper. As time went on the Ledger became a very popular and influential newspaper. In fact Childs' yearly income from the Ledger was between $400,000 to $500.000 per year.

He was known as a charitable man. He gave generously to numerous local organizations.

In 1894 he succumbed after an episode of vertigo was followed by right sided paralysis. I suspect that most likely he suffered a brain stem stroke (Free neurological opinion).


Here is a picture of the cigar box. Childs' picture shows him at his desk at the Philadelphia Ledger.

Rupert Hughes, The Author of the Lakerim Series

Here is an interesting piece of ephemera relating to author Rupert Hughes (1872-1956). My interest in Hughes is due to the three volume Lakerim Series he authored. This juvenile series was published by the Century Company between 1898-1910.

Hughes however is really not known because of this series. He wrote an important biographical work about George Washington in 1926. He was a film director, a playwright, a composer and the uncle of the famous Howard Hughes. He also penned more than fifty books both fiction and non fiction. Some of his plays were quite successful on Broadway.

According to his biographer, James O. Kemm, almost fifty motion pictures were made from stories or novels written by Hughes. In looking at the titles, I am afraid I am not familiar with any of them. For more about Hughes see Rupert Hughes: A Hollywood Legend, James O. Kemm. Pomegranate Press 1997.


This postcard has a picture of Rupert Hughes on the front and an advertisement for his book , Clipped Wings, on the reverse. The card says "new novel" about the book and since the book was published by Harper and Brothers in 1914, the card probably was from 1914 . The later A.L. Burt published book is a reprint.

Unusual Series- Boxed with Holly Attached to Cover

Generally speaking when I get a book that has a dust jacket or is within a labeled box, it is a successful book day. When the book comes with a jacket and a box , it is even better. What other combinations exist?
Well today I have one for you.

Henry Altemus' Christmas Gift Series was a series of 25 books. They were never advertised or mentioned in any publisher's' catalogues or advertisements. In fact the only identification of the Christmas Gift Series is on a labeled box. Beyond the box that the book comes in however there is something else. The books come with a piece of holly attached to them. In fact the box is a bit deeper than is necessary for the book to fit in order to accommodate the holly. As you can see the box is decorated by pictures of holly.


The series was published in 1906-1907. The books have been seen with a pink or green linen cloth. The titles are the usual multi authored reprints of many classic titles. See: http://henryaltemus.com/series/series65.htm .

So here is a very unusual series of books that are boxed with a piece of holly attached to the front cover.

Quite unique!!

An 1894 Blackie Henty Advertising Flyer

Today in a Henty book I found a nice little two page flyer advertising Blackie Henty books. This is the second one I have seen and therefore Blackie must have printed a number of them. My guess is that they probably published a new one yearly as an advertising vehicle. But this is purely a guess. Each page measures 4.75 x 3.5.

In attempting to date this piece I have looked at all the books listed. I checked their dates with the authoritative source about Henty books-Peter Newbolt's G.A. Henty.
(This volume is 700 page long.) If you have any interest in Henty, this book is a must. Newbolt has print run numbers for the Blackie Henty's -pretty impressive.




Through the Sikh War published on June 13th, 1894 is the latest published book I can find within the listed books. Thus, this is an 1894 advertising piece.

The book I found it in is shown here. It was published by Sampson Low, Marston and Company. I do not know its date.

F. M. Lupton and a Dust Jacketed Book

The F. M. Lupton Publishing Company was one of a myriad of houses that published numerous reprints of older works in a multitude of series. These series were distinguished generally by nice decorative bindings. Lupton did series both in paperback and hardcover but most of the series contained mostly the same titles. Among the titles and authors were Alice in Wonderland, Doyle's A Study in Scarlet, reprints of Charles Dickens, Henty and Shakespeare.

Despite frequent listings to the contrary, all of Lupton's non paperbacks were issued in boxes or in dust jackets. So it is safe to snicker at those dealers who note in their ads: "No jacket as issued".

This New York publishing house was founded by Frank Moore Lupton (1854-1910) Lupton grew up on Long Island. He initially apprenticed to a printer in Greenport. Thereafter he worked for S.W. Green. With several friends he started a monthly periodical called The Cricket on the Hearth. In 1882 he founded his own company. At that time the imprint was F.M. Lupton. He continued to add titles, series and authors' sets throughout the years. In 1892 he incorporated and the imprint changed to F. M. Lupton Publishing Company. The firm changed its name to the Federal Book Company in 1902.

In 1910 Frank Lupton committed suicide as per his obituary. It stated that the reason was "overwork, prolonged ill health and melancholia". If you want some gruesome details , one obituary reported that his throat was cut and an open penknife was by his side. Apparently he was quite depressed by a stomach condition that was not improved by health spas he had visited in Europe.

Here is a typical example of a Lupton publisher's series book. This is the Daisy Series. This series was published in the late 1890's. As is frequently the case, no mention of the series can be found within the book-only on the reverse of the dust jacket. Thus, if you do not know which series the book belongs to , then without the jacket you never will.

We can date this book fairly closely based on the address on the reverse of the dust jacket. Lupton moved to 52-58 Duane street in 1899. In 1902 it moved to 23-27 City Hall Place. Thus this book was published between 1899 and 1902.

The Norman Carver Series by Clarence Burleigh

Clarence Burleigh was the author of two juvenile series. Those were the Raymond Benson Series and the Norman Carver Series. I thought I would review the Norman Carver Series here today.

As with most of the Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Series, the books are bit larger (8 x 5.5) and sturdier than the usual Cupples and Leon, Altemus, Grosset and Dunlap etc. series books. The books were published in three consecutive years-1908, 1909, 1910. H.C. Edwards illustrated all three books although there were some supplemental photographs.


Clarence Burleigh (1864-) . He graduated from Bowdoin,College in Maine in the Class of 1887. Other authors noted in this blog such as Edward A. Rand and Elijah Kellogg have also matriculated from Bowdoin.




















Later he was the editor of the Kennebec Journal in Augusta , Maine. He was also active in local politics but I have been able to find out very little about his personal and professional life.

The three books follow the adventures of Norman Carver and his buddy Fred Warner. The first two books are about their adventures in the logging industry of Maine. In the first book they are part of a logging camp while in the second book they are members of a crew of logger drivers. The third book details the boys adventures in the Maine woods during hunting season. Apparently Burleigh knew the woods well as he notes in his preface that he is giving an accurate portrayal of this area.




















The books are not too difficult to obtain, but as always, jacketed ones are at a premium.

1, All Among the Loggers 1908
2. With Pickpole and Peavy 1909
3. The Young Guide 1910


A special Happy Birthday today to my daughter
Lauren. (She promises she reads this blog faithfully-
I guess we will see about that)

Peck's Bad Boy Board game

The first Peck's Bad Boy book was published in 1883 by Belford, Clarke and Company. During the next 45 years the Peck's Bad Boy "franchise" included numerous books, plays in theaters all across the country, three movies, continuous newspaper comics, and two board games.

A number of juvenile books had associated board games but not many were as early as this one.


This is the game board.


The Bad Boy's Little Game and was published by the R. Bliss Manufacturing Company in 1891. Bliss was founded by Rufus Bliss in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. It was later sold to Mason and Parker of Winchendon, Massachusetts. The cover of the box features pictures of Bad Boy vignettes as well as a portrait of George W. Peck with a caption- Gov of Wisconsin. Within the box is the board, 4 player pieces and 24 cards. I do not have the spinner (or dice) that moves the pieces. The box pictured here is 15.5 x 7.


These are the game pieces.
They are His Girl, His Pa, His Chum
and The Bad Boy





Below are the 24 cards. They are 2 x 1.25. When matched up, they form 12 unique pictures.

When you play the game there are a number
of places to get a card. I do not have the directions but I think that the person wit the most pictures wins the game. Only a guess though.


The second Peck game-Peck's Bad Boy at
the Circus was published by Milton Bradley
in 1939. I will show it in the future.

Jolly Good Times Series by Mary P. Wells Smith

First Edition of Book #1

The Jolly Good Times Series was the largest and probably the most popular of the four series written by Mary P. Wells Smith. Two publishers printed the series in its entirety. First was Roberts brothers and after when it sold off the plates to Little, Brown and Company, the latter firm published the series as well.





As noted previously The books of this series were based on real environs. The first two books Jolly Good Times and Jolly Good Times at School are set at the Kendall Farm in Greenfield Meadows, Massachusetts where Mary P. Wells actually lived . The Hackmatack books were located in what was actually Warwick, Massachusetts. Daniel Strong , one of the heroes was based on Smith's husband.

The first two books were written with the pseudonym P. Thorne. All later books gave Smith as the author. Once the books were reprinted by Little, Brown, Smith was the author of note of all eight volumes.




Two ads for Roberts Brothers
books.


Several formats of the Roberts Brothers and the Little Brown books have been seen. The Roberts' books that have Jolly Good Times in their title have a J and G from the words Jolly and Good incorporated within a decorative pattern. The first edition of book #1 has been seen with a gold gilt picture of three children. and a barrel. Other Roberts' books have various cover pictures. The Canoe Trip has a picture of boys paddling a canoe. (I have not seen all of the variants and will add pictures as I see them



Dust jacketed early Little Brown book. The first Little Brown editions were identical to the last Roberts' Brothers books.










The Little Brown books have been seen with flowers on the covers as well as pictures of adolescents sitting in chairs. The earlier Little Brown books have gold gilt lettering. The jackets match the books. Little Brown omitted the Canoe Trip and The Browns with its later printings. In 1927 Little Brown published a new edition which was larger (8.25 x 5.75) which was blue, gold gilt lettering, illustrated end papers and with a colorful dust jacket. This edition was limited to books #1 and #2.

All of the Roberts' books came with dust jackets but those jackets are really rare. The earlier Little Brown books are also quite scarce with dust jackets. This publisher has dates on the title page.

More to come on Mary Prudence Wells Smith's series later.



These are the 1927 Little Brown editions.

The Books.
1. Jolly Good Times 1875
2. Jolly Good Times at School 1877
3. The Browns 1884
4. Their Canoe Trip 1889
5. Jolly Good Times at Hackmatack 1891
6. More Good Times at Hackmatack 1892
7. Jolly Good Times To-Day 1894
8. A Jolly Good Summer 1895

Jessie Mcdermott illustrated books #5, 7.
Frank T. Merrill did book # 4.
Addie Ledyard did #1
Helen Mason Grose illustrated the end papers and books of the late 1920's
Little Brown reprints of Volumes #1 and #2.