Henry Altemus Company Explained

Henry Altemus Company
Status:	Defunct
Founder:	Henry Altemus
Country:	United States
Headquarters:	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Publications:	Books

The Henry Altemus Company was a publishing company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for almost a century, from 1842 to 1936.^{[1] [2]}

History

The firm started as a bookbindery. In 1863, Altemus was awarded a patent for a particular type of binding for photographic albums. These albums were huge sellers for Altemus and were the mainstay of their publishing business until the mid-1880s. The albums were supplanted by Bibles in the 1880s. Starting in 1889, books were published with the Henry Altemus imprint. Like other publishers of its era, it published a wide variety of titles, in a wide variety of formats. The company published over two hundred series. These series can be seen listed at henryaltemus.com.^[1] More than 95% of all the published works of Henry Altemus were in series form.^[3]

Altemus' most popular series included the Young People's Library, Wee Books for Wee Folks, and their numerous juvenile series books.^[1] Among the latter are those written by H. Irving Hancock.

References

1. Web site: Henry Altemus Company – History & Overview . 31 March 2014 . 22 October 2014.
2. https://www.oldchildrensbooks.com/collectors-corner/new-childrens-reference-available/19th-c-series A Bibliography of 19th Century Children's Series Books
3. https://www.oldchildrensbooks.com/collectors-corner/new-childrens-reference-available/henry-altemus-company The Henry Altemus Company: A History and Pictorial Bibliography

Further reading

• Cary Sternick, The Henry Altemus Company: A History and Pictorial Bibliography, The Woodlands, Texas: Cary Sternick, 2005.
• Cary Sternick, A Bibliography of 19th Century Children's Series Books, The Woodlands, Texas: Cary Sternick, 2003.

External links

• Henry Altemus - website documenting Henry Altemus, his books and his series