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.

Henty First Edition by Blackie with Dust Jacket

George Henty wrote 122 books as described by his bibliographer Peter Newbolt in G.H. Henty 1832-1902, A Bibliographical Study, Scolar Press 1996. A number of British publishers did the first editions but Blackie did more firsts and reprints than any other. Most of the American first editions were published by Scribner's and Scribner and Welford.


Who was George Henty? A sickly child born in Trumpington, England, he later served with the British services in various sites including the Suez canal, Franco-German Campaign, Turko-Serbian War. After his service ended he wrote numerous boys' adventure books many of which were based on his own experiences.

Blackie first editions are of variable scarcity. Blackie first editions with dust jackets are quite rare. Here is an example. The Tiger of Mysore was published in late 1895. It was the custom of Blackie to put the next year' s date at the base of the title page. (See Newbolt). More on Henty 's books in future posts.