Henry Altemus Company

The following are questions submitted via email by our visitors.

If you have a question about Altemus books that you'd like answered please click on the Questions link at the bottom left of this page.

Sanspareil Series

Q:  Can u tell me anything about this book (Black Beauty)? there are only 4 illustrations. the only color page is opposite the author page. no date. engraved cover.

A:  Your book is from the Sanspareil Series and was published in 1899. This is a publisher's series of reprints. It consists mainly of fiction, poetry, essays, etc. It originally came with a dust jacket.

See ../series/series163.htm

Since the books of this series are all reprints, except for a few special well collected titles, their value is only nominal.

Sanspareil Series

Q:  Hi - My mother recently gave my 7 year old the attached book. He is very fond of it and carries it everywhere. I am worried that it may be more valuable than she readily is aware and should be reshelved. Could you possibly take a look and let me know the history in regards the book?

A:  Your book was published in 1899 as part of the Sanspareil Series.
See Series 163

It only has nominal value so carrying it around won't hurt its value.

Sanspareil Series

Q:  I am wondering if you can help me establish the value of Oliver Wendell Holmes’ “Autocrat of the Breakfast Table” published by Altemus in 1899 as a part of the Sanspareil Series (later numbering).

Cover from your own website (below) matches the cover of the copy I have.

A:  Although you have a nice book, it generally does not sell for more than a few dollars. Generally speaking, unless the title is in great demand (not here), these publisher's series reprints without original boxes or dust jackets have little value.

For more on this series see Sanspareil Series

Sanspareil Series

Q:  Good evening,

I have a very nice hardbound copy of Black Beauty published by Henry Altemus Philadelphia. I am attaching a picture of the book--beautiful cover.

Can you help my by telling me the approximate date of publication on this book????

A:  Your book is part of the multivolume, multiauthored publisher's series called the Sanspareil Series. This series was published in 1898 and 1899. Your book was published in 1899. It originally had a dust jacket.

Shakespeare's Plays

Q:  I have a number of Shakespeare plays published by your company, the attached being one of them (As You Like It). Can you tell me anything about this one, especially the date? I believe they were all purchased around the same time and have identical cloth covers. Thank you!

A:  Your books were published between 1906-1933. They are Format 7 in the Shakespeare’s Plays Series.

See: http://henryaltemus.com/series/series164.htm

This is the most commonly seen format in a very common series.

There is nothing that distinguishes the books in this format regarding actual date of publication.

Shakespeare's Plays

Q:  Hi. I am curious about the age and value of this book. King Henry VI Part 3.

A:  This series of 39 titles was published by Altemus between 1899 and 1933. Your book looks like a Format 7 title. These books were published between 1906 and 1933.

For more information see: Shakespeare's Plays

Shakespeare's Plays

Q:  Romeo and Juliet. The book is 4 1/4 by 5 1/5 192 pages in play form. I would like to know what it is worth and how many are in the series and the year it was published. It was a Valentines gift and I might want to add to the series. Thank you.

A:  There were 39 plays included in this set which was published between 1899 and 1933. These little books were published in eight different formats and could be purchased in a boxed set as well as individually. The individual volumes had dust jackets. In order to know when your book was printed, I would need more information.

You can determine its date by checking here: Shakespeare's Plays

These books are very common and rarely sell for more than a couple of dollars each.

Shakespeare's Plays

Q:  Hello, A while back I purchased about a dozen of these small books, all of them the works of Shakespeare. This is one of them. Will you be able to tell me how much they are worth approximately or at least a range depending on the quality of each book? They are all in pretty good shape, but not mint. I do not know what year they were published. A woman wrote her name in them with the year 1906 written next to her name. Please find attached four photos of the book.

A:  This book belongs to Series 164 Shakespeare's Plays. These ubiquitous little books must have been some of Altemus' best sellers as I am frequently asked about them. There are 39 different titles in the group and some were sold within large boxed sets. See here.
These books were sold between 1899 and 1933 in as many as eight different formats. Your book appears to be from Format 5 or 7. You can figure this out by looking at the website and noting the subtle differences. (end papers, glossy title page, etc.)

Your book originally had a dust jacket. Shown here.
These books have little value and most often sell for a dollar or two apiece or go unsold altogether.

Shakespeare's Plays

Q:  My name is Jesse Roth and I am a volunteer at a bookstore in Bluffton, Ohio called Book Reviews. We received as a donation a set of 39 of William Shakespeare's Plays. Using your website, I have determined that our set is of the Format 7 variety, which was published from 1906-1933. I was wondering if you could tell me how to precisely date the set? Or is it that each book in the set was published within that range of dates? Also, they are used and in good condition, is there any way you could tell me how much they're worth?

A:  The Format 7 books were published continuously between 1906 and 1933. The title pages of the earlier format 7 books are red (later are black).

See Shakespeare's Plays for more information about this format. Originally all these volumes were all housed in a large box.

These books are very common. Most often when offered for sale, there are no bidders. A few dollars for each book would be reasonable. You might get a bit more if your books have dust jackets.

Examples of the dust jacket and the box are shown here.

Shakespeare's Plays

Q:  We picked up the following books at an antique auction from an estate and there were other books from 1800-1929, can you please tell us what we have? There are no dates anywhere, nor copyright info. Antony and Cleopatra. Thank you.

A:  You have a few books from this set: Shakespeare's Plays

There were 39 books in total. These titles were published in a number of formats. Your books were published in the 1906-1933 range.

They are incredibly common and have only nominal value.