Advertising Cover- Corporal Si Klegg and His Pard

Advertising covers were a great way to promote a product in the 19th century. A number of envelopes have been seen with pictures of a publishing house's headquarters. Individual books are less often shown on envelopes. Here is a great example of the latter.

Corporal Si Klegg and His Pard is a book that pictures the various aspects of Army life during the Civil War. The subtitle is " How they lived and talked, and what they did and suffered while fighting for the flag". Reviews of the book noted that this book was one of the few that actually portrayed the daily life of the soldier. Despite the story being fictional, the anecdotes included here were very lifelike. Sales of the serialized novel exceeded all expectations.

It was written by Wilbur F. Hinman (1840-1905) who was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Ohio Regiment. He was born in Berea, Ohio. He attended Baldwin University prior to enlisting in the Union Army in 1861.

The publisher of the 1887 first edition was The Williams Publishing Company in Cleveland-not exactly a major house.

This is a great illustrated advertising cover featuring that book.