The Beadle Collection of Dime Novels. New York Public Library
titles constituting this series are embraced in the collection. Number 8 is a first edition copy of Edward Ellis’ celebrated “Seth Jones,” a story of the New York Wilderness in 1785. More than 450,000 copies of this book had been sold in America before 1865, and it had been translated into seven foreign languages. Number 9, “The Slave Sculptor,” illustrates the little known bibliographical fact that Beadle and Company issued English editions of many of these books from 44 Paternoster Row, London. The English editions were printed from the American stereotype plates, with specially prepared title-pages. It was during the issuance of the first few titles of the original Dime Novels that various experiments were made by the publishers in the form and color of these books. Numbers 10, 11 and 12 illustrate such changes. But the appearance adopted in Number 11 was finally chosen, and thenceforth was adhered to during the printing of over 300 books in the yellow-back series. Among other titles included in this type is a copy of Mrs. Victor’s “Maum Guinea,” which was preferred by President Lincoln, as a portrayal of slavery, over Mrs. Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” Still other celebrated issues among the yellow-backs shown are Ellis’ “Riflemen of the Miami,” Frances Barritt’s “The Land Claim,” and Ann Stephen’s “Story of the Oregon Trail.”
The second series of Beadle books portraying pioneer conditions and events was called the “Pocket Novels,” which began to appear about 1869 or 1870. These were of the same 12mo size as their predecessors, but the previous uniformity of coloring was abandoned for a more brilliant appearance and each cover was given a multi-colored illustration on a solid background of red, green, blue or brown. Some sixty-four titles of this series are displayed, and almost without exception they deal with historical pioneer conditions, events and personages. Among these books the visitor will find “Mad Anthony’s Scouts,” by Rodman; Whittaker’s “Boone the Hunter” and “Dick Darling” (the pony expressman); “Billy Bowlegs”; and “The Sons of Liberty” and “Mohawk Nat,” by the historian Charles Dunning Clark, who wrote for Beadle under the pen name of W. J. Hamilton. Clark wrote no less than seventeen of the “Pocket Novels” books, nearly all of them dealing with the periods and circumstances of the French-Indian wars in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania, or with the scenes of the Revolution, phases of national history upon which Clark was a specialist. Many of the “Pocket” series also dealt with the settlement of the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys from 1780 to 1815, and with the Far West from 1849 to 1869. This “Pocket” series is bibliographically known as Type B of the Beadle publications, while the original yellow-backed books belong to Type A.
The next two groups—Types D and E—have a common title, the “Boy’s Library of Sport, Story and Adventure,” and are distinguished from one another by the larger size and earlier issuance of the Type D items. They are imperial octavo in size, whereas the Type E publications are ordinary octavos. Both are uncolored, and have their title-pages entirely occupied with bold black-and-white illustrations. The Type D books are somewhat different in various qualities from their predecessors, and were obviously designed to create an interest in foreign countries, peoples and customs as well as in American adventure. A typical item of this class is Harbaugh’s “Snow Shoe Tom, or New York Boys in the Wilderness,” wherein the veteran author (who is still living in Ohio) instructs his readers regarding camp and wilderness life in Maine, in moose-hunting, fishing, trapping, the making of snow-shoes, and self-reliance in the woods. The Type E books are concerned almost wholly with life in the Far West, and with the lives and adventures of celebrated plainsmen. Among these titles are Aiken’s story of the exploits of “Kit Carson”; Joseph Badger’s Autobiography (written under the pen name of Post); and Ingraham’s biography of the celebrated scout called Texas Jack, whose real name was J. B. Omohundro.
A series of little 12mo paper books having about 100 pages each, with colored illustrations on orange-red covers, come next in the exhibition. These are of the “New Dime Novels” series, known in bibliographical realms as Type F. There are no less than 114 of them, all in remarkable condition considering that some were copyrighted as early as 1866, and none are less than forty years old. These books, like the original dime publications and the Pocket series, are devoted to the early Indian wars, to various pioneer conditions and events, to the settlement of the Mississippi Valley and to the Far West. Among the titles displayed in this section are “Eph Peters, the Scout of the Mohawk Valley,” by Clark; “Indian Jim,” a story of the Minnesota Massacres of 1862, by Ellis; “Wingenund,” by Murray; “The Grizzly Hunters,” by Captain Whittaker; a Sioux narrative under the title of “Old Zip,” by Bruin Adams; John Neal’s description of the Maine “Moosehunter”; and Whittaker’s story of “The Death’s Head Rangers” of Texas.
Next among the various varieties of publications are the “American Tales.” These (the Type G books) have become particularly rare, and are represented by but five examples. They are octavos with brown pictorial covers. One of these, entitled “The Blue Brotherhood, or the Young Patroon’s Inheritance,” deals with the events of the Mohawk Valley during the Revolution, and with the manor house of Abram Van Kempen, which was then known as “Van Kempen’s Castle.”
Most spectacular and attractive of all, in their outward appearance, are the books of the Type H series. These are likewise octavos, published in 1870 and the years immediately following, and they have dramatically drawn covers published in colors. For a long time it was not known by modern bibliographers that these tales were published by Beadle, since, almost without exception, they bear an imprint reading “Frank Starr and Company, Publishers, 41 Platt Street.” Investigation, however, at length disclosed that Frank Starr was a foreman in Beadle’s employ, and that 41 Platt Street was a rear entrance to the Beadle establishment. And finally a copy of “The Texan Spy” of this series was discovered, with the Beadle imprint on the title-page, and also a Beadle copyright, although the “Frank Starr” attribution appears on the front cover. The title-page of “The Texan Spy,” which ultimately settled the problem, is shown in the exhibition. Although this series is among the most rare, no less than thirty-nine examples are in the collection. They embrace historical tales dealing with Kit Carson, the Gulf Pirates, the Black Hawk War, Pioneer Life in Texas, the New York Wilderness, the Seminole War, Early California, the Trappers of the West, the Civil War, Early Ohio, Marion’s Rangers, the Settlement of the Susquehanna Region, and many other equally absorbing phases of American pioneer conditions.
Following comes an assemblage of very different outward aspect. These are 105 specimens of the “Pocket Library,” which are collectively known as Type J. They are uniform, small octavo pamphlets of thirty-two pages each, with the front covers occupied by illustrations in black-and-white. The very first issue of this series is shown. It is Edward Wheeler’s story of “Deadwood Dick, the Prince of the Road.” Among the more important items in this division of the collection are Omohundro’s story of the Scout New Wylde, Captain J. F. C. Adams’ “Oregon Sol,” the same famous pioneer’s tale of “Nick Whiffle’s Pet,” Mayne Reid’s “The Yellow Chief,” Prentiss Ingraham’s “Buffalo Bill’s Bet,” and Ingraham’s “Pony Express Rider.” The dominant motif of this series is far western adventure, but there are also numerous stories portraying life in New York City.
The succeeding group (belonging to Type K) reveals another striking reversal of form and outward appearance. These are fat little 12mo books of about 200 pages each, with colored illustrated covers. But much of the coloring used in decorating the covers in this series, was not done by the printing press. It was performed by paint brush and human hand, on each separate volume, as part of the original publication process. As a result of this innovation, and also of course due in part to the increased size of the books, these volumes were sold at 20 cents each. Their publication began in 1871, and but few titles appeared. They are now exceedingly rare, although fifteen of the thirty-one known items of the series are shown by the Library, including No. 1. It is Albert Aitken’s story of “Overland Kit.” No. 11 is “Idaho Tom,” by Oll Coomes; No. 17 is Mrs. Victor’s “Turkey Dan”; No. 27 is Buffalo Bill’s “Deadly Eye,” and No. 29 is Badger’s “Old