The Bobbsey Twins and their Earliest reprints

Although the Mershon and Chatterton-Peck publications of the Bobsey Twins are the first editions and the most sought after formats of these books, one can argue that the first Grosset formats of books #1-3 are equally scarce. The key to the first Groset and Dunlap editions is finding the books with their original dust jackets. I would claim that the earliest jacketed Bobbsey's by Grosset and Dunlap are actually harder to find than the Mershon's and Chatterton-Peck"s.

The first Grosset and Dunlap( Groset's) do not have the familiar picture of the twins on the jacket. Rather it has text extolling the virtues of the books. The cover does have an applique of the two children sitting in the flowers.Thus far I have found two variant dust jackets with the text. Both predate the pictorial jackets.

The earlier book lists the Rover Boys to Treasure Isle on the reverse of the jacket. That book was probably published in 1909. The author's name (Hope) is just under the title on the spine.
There are some interesting differences in these books that have the same dust jackets. I have seen three different back ad combinations. One I have seen has no back ads. Another lists Rover Boys to book #12 (Rover Boys at Farm) which is a 1908 book. A third copy lists the 8 Enterprise Series books that are also listed on the front flap of the dust jacket. It is impossible at this time to claim that one of these format variants is earlier or later than another.


The second Bobbsey Twins' book that has the text on the dust jacket has a different set of ads on the reverse of the dust jacket. 10 Tom Swift's are listed indicating a 1911 date. There are other ad differences but this is the main one.




After the books just described it is assumed that Grosset moved to the familiar pictorial dust jacket. This occurred by 1912 as books of this ilk have been seen with 15 Tom Swift's advertised on the back of the dust jacket. At this time the author's name was placed in the center of the spine.


These early Grosset and Dunlap reprints of The Bobbsey Twins exemplify the importance of needing the dust jackets of series books to be able to distinguish editions, formats and accurately determine dates.

The Bobbsey Twins First Editions

The Bobbsey Twins series was one of the most popular 20th century series of books for small children.

The first book, The Bobbsey Twins, was published in 1904 by The Mershon Company. Unfortunately the later edition Grosset and Dunlap books are frequently described as being first editions as opposed to later publications. (Actually afterMershon published this title, Chatterton-Peck also printed it).



Mershon Edition



Here are a couple of description errors by sellers .

1.1904 THE BOBBSEY TWINS LAURA LEE HOPE Mershon CO.1ST ED
IT WAS WRITTEN BY LAURA LEE HOPE AND PUBLISHED BY GROSSET & DUNLOP IN NEW YORK IT WAS COPYRIGHTED IN 1904 BY THE MERSHON COMPANY

2. The Bobbsey Twins
Laura Lee Hope
Price: US$ 195.00
Book Description: Grosset & Dunlap. Decorative Cloth. Book Condition: Good. Assumed to be the first edition.




Chatterton-Peck Editions



The second and third volumes in the series were first published by Chatterton-Peck Company
2. The Bobbsey Twins in the Country 1907
3. The Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore 1907 (Some dispute whether this book was a Chatterton-Peck publication but the earliest Grosset and Dunlap edition of "Seashore" does credit Chatterton-Peck with the copyright.)

Also the first book The Bobbsey Twins was reprinted by Chatterton-Peck (second edition).

These Mershon and Chatterton-Peck Bobbsey Twins' books are very scarce. The cover used in these books was different from the Grosset and Dunlap covers published first in 1908. The earlier books are also smaller. (6.75 x 4.75 versus 7.62 x 5.25)

Copies of these titles were reprinted for many years by Grosset and Dunlap. Only the earliest reprints with dust jackets have more than nominal value.

The earliest Grosset and Dunlap editions which are extremely scarce in dust jacket will be discussed tomorrow.

The Mershon Company- History and Dust Jackets

The Mershon Company was an active publishing house between 1897 and 1906. Mainly known as a reprint house of classics and juvenile literature, it also published a number of original
works such as the Bobbsey Twins and Rover Boys.

In 1893 the Cassell Publishing House was reorganized. Apparently its previous manager Oscar Dunham had absconded with $180,000 and financially Cassell was in a desperate situation. A new Cassell Publishing Company was organized in New York with William Mershon as president and manager. Prior to this Mershon had been in charge of his own bookbinding, electrotyping, and printing establishment. in Rahway , NJ.

In 1897 Mershon left Cassell to start his own publishing company. In 1905 the name of the firm was changed to Stitt. Apparently the new company run by William Stitt was not successful and the company returned to the Mershon imprint in 1906.


Apparently He was in business until October,1906 at which time his publishing business were sold to Chatterton- Peck. Charles Peck had been a long time employee of The Mershon Company.

For more details see John Dizer: Tom Swift. the Bobbsey Twins and Other Heroes of American Juvenile Literature. The Edward Mellen Press. 1997Frequently ads from dealers and booksellers describe books as without dust jacket-as issued. The reality with most all books from the 1890's and later is that generally all of them had jackets and/or were boxed. Of course, no amount of explanation is enough. My thought is that if you do not know something about a book, then make no claim.

Here are two sample ads from a book sales service:

Captain Bailey Heir
Henty, G. A.
Mershon, 1900. Hard cover. Book Condition: Good. Good. No dust jacket as issued.

By England's Aid Or The Freeing Of The Netherlands 1585-1604
Henty, G.A.
Mershon Company. Hardback. No Dustjacket, probably as issued.

It amazes me that without knowledge and without doing the research that some dealers assume jacketless books are the norm- when quite the opposite is the case. This entry shows a couple of jacketed Mershon books from the first decade of the 20th century.