The Henry Altemus Company’s Alices

“The covers are made from a number of different linen swaths. Some examples are below. For all possible pictures see http://henryaltemus.com/series/series57.htm “

The Henry Altemus Company published editions of AAIW and TTLG at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th Centuries. A website called www.henryaltemus.com has recently added a page about these Alices, with valuable historical information and lots of scanned images! I believe this is the humble work of scholar Cary Sternick, who wrote an article on the subject in the Knight Letter 80.

Henry Altemus published Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass in separate volumes and combined books. Mistakes regarding editions and dates are commonplace. This section will review all of the Altemus Alice’s. For more detailed information click on the individual series links.

Of course, Altemus only published reprints of these titles. They were printed as combination books as well as single titles beginning in 1895. These titles appeared in 27 different series as well being published as non-series books. Within the series there are numerous formats and variants. I have seen one Alice in Wonderland book which I am sure is part of a series but which one is not clear. This book is discussed at the end of this article. […]

"The covers are made from a number of different linen swaths. Some examples are below. For all possible pictures see http://henryaltemus.com/series/series57.htm "
"This series of 40 books was published between 1899-1906. A similar format was used for Series #59 Boys and Girls Own Library, a 39 volume series published in 1909-1910. (http://henryaltemus.com/series/series59.htm)"
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4 thoughts on “The Henry Altemus Company’s Alices

  1. So I’ve just purchased a copy with the above map style linen cover, but the date of publication says 1987. Your notation says it was used 1899-1906. Is it an error or is it the book? I’m just curious.

  2. I have just found a copy of “Through the Looking Glass”, 1899, Henry Altemus, Philadelphia, in my Mom’s treasures. it is the one with the Walrus on the front, with gold leaf borders and it appears to be #3 in a series of 244 different books. The series appears to end with “Zoe” (according to the Altemus guide in the rear of the book). I am going have to read it and look at the illustrations!

  3. I have had a copy of “Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There” since I was little I picked it off a hay wagon/barn sale, the wagon piled with books. After years of not knowing much about it, the website above has helped me identify the book a lot better. The copy right page is missing, but by identifying the cover, it looks like I have a Series 143 – Petit Trianon published 1899. Thank you for posting this information and any more to help me discover more about this treasure is welcome.

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