New York Public Library

“ Many of the boys and girls who encountered Pontiac, Boone, the renegade 8 Girty, Mad Anthony, Kenton, and Black Hawk in their pages were incited to find out something more about those characters and their times, and thus were introduced to much of the nation’s story and geography. Manliness and womanliness among the readers were cultivated by these little books, not by homilies, but by example. It can be truthfully said that the taste and tone of the life of the generation which grew up with these tales were improved by them. No age limit was set up among Beadle’s readers. ”

“ The editorship of the house was entrusted to Orville J. Victor, one of the most remarkable figures in the history of American literature. For thirty years, Victor personally studied, passed upon, and edited the thousands of publications of the House of Beadle. He insisted, first of all, that the narratives must be true and accurate portrayals, in spirit, of the pioneer times and people with which they dealt. They had to reveal wilderness life and struggle as it was, and depict the conditions amid which the 6 pioneers did their work. ”

“ Throughout the thirty or more years in which the Beadle books held ascendancy they were so cheap, and so common, that they were almost never saved. In that respect they suffered the fate of all common things. It is almost always the case that the commonest objects of one generation become the rarest objects of two generations afterward. Their very commonness is the quality that keeps them from being treasured by their original possessors. ”

“ Probably a majority of the Dime Library tales portray the conditions and famous characters of the Far West, and among the pioneer phases of western life with which its titles deal are overland emigration, fur trapping, lumber-camp life, gold hunting, the Texas War, the exploits of the Texas Rangers, the stage coach era, cattle rustling, ranch life, vigilante rule, the depredations of road-agents, Indian fighting, and conditions in all the new states and territories. ”

“ Nearly all are shown in the exhibition cases in a manner to reveal their outward appearance and the dramatic or quaint illustrations with which they were embellished, but certain of the books of each variety are opened for a proper display of the title-pages.
Although every one of the thirty-one types of Beadle books (and doubtless many of the individual items also) will awaken vivid memories in the minds of elder visitors, the dominating influence of the exhibition—especially to those historically inclined—will be the effect which it produces as a whole. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 Dialogue series contained at least forty-one issues, and the speaker series is known to have embraced twenty-five books. Numerous copies of each are shown, the Speaker No. 1 being dated 1861.
Erastus Beadle was himself a great lover of out-door sports and out-door life (due, no doubt, to his immediate pioneer ancestry) , and in addition to the baseball guides he published many other similar hand-books. The Library exhibition contains copies of the Beadle “Book of Cricket,” of “Football,” of “Croquet,” of “Skating,” of “Curling,” of “Pedestrianism,” and of “Riding and Driving.” ”

“ 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 11 Rangers, the Settlement of the Susquehanna Region, and many other equally absorbing phases of American pioneer conditions. ”

“ 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.” ”

“ In 1833, when Erastus was twelve years old, he, in his turn, was to enjoy his first extensive experience of wilderness journeying. He accompanied the rest of the family on an overland migration to the town of Schoolcraft, in Kalamazoo County, Michigan Territory, which pilgrimage occupied many weeks. But the Far West of those days did not suit Flavel Beadle, and he brought his family back to New York about two years later. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Still a third imitator of Beadle was Sinclair Tousey of New York, who, in 1864, began publishing a series called “American Tales.” These were octavos in colored illustrated covers, and were sold for 15 cents. They (doubtless due to the date of their appearance) relate to the Civil War and its events.
Following are fifty-six numbers of the most famous of the later generation of American dime novels. These are the “Old Cap Collier Stories,” first published by the house of Munro in 1883. ”

“ In Phinney’s establishment Erastus learned to be a type-setter, stereotyper, printer, and binder, and with these abilities as his only capital he moved to the village of Buffalo in 1847. By 1852 he had a printing shop of his own, and in that year he issued his first publication, entitled “The Youth’s Casket.” In 1856 he began to issue the excellent magazine called “The Home Monthly” (shown in the exhibition) , and two years later he removed to New York City to test his great idea. ”

“ The Type E books are concerned almost wholly with life in the Far West, and with the lives and adventures of celebrated plainsmen. 10 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. ”

“ For a long time a considerable part of the reading public in the East looked upon these tales from the Far West as unadulterated fiction, entirely 7 harmful in its effect. Uncounted armies of boys who lived between the Mississippi and the Atlantic were taken to the woodsheds by their fathers, and there subjected to severe physical and mental anguish as a result of the parental discovery that they were reading such “impossible trash.” ”

“ He traveled by sail-boat from Connecticut to New York City; thence up the Hudson to Lansingburg; and by horses and wagons overland through the wilderness to Otsego County, on Stewart’s Patent, near the present Richfield Springs. This pioneer was married three times, and was the father of twenty-three children. The father of Erastus was named Flavel Beadle, and was a son of Benjamin’s second wife. Flavel Beadle was eight years of age during the journey into the New York wilderness, and was there later married to Polly Tuller, who had come from Massachusetts. ”

“ These were 12mo or 16mo in size, and were presented in attractive colored covers, sometimes with illustrations. Most important and historically valuable of these publications were the Beadle Baseball Guides, that began to appear in 1859 or 1860 and were continued for about twenty years. They were the first continuous series of baseball guides in the world, and contain a huge mass of information relating to the national game that is nowhere else to be found. In that respect they are invaluable, and no history of baseball can be written without constant recourse to them. ”

“ No. 1 of the series (which the Library shows) , is Robinson Crusoe, but all the others deal with famous personages and events in American history. Some of the books contain several such narratives, among them being stories of Marion and his men, of Daniel Morgan, of Tecumseh, Moody, Simon Girty, and other historic characters of pioneer times. This series of publications was edited by Edward S. Ellis, and, like several other groups with which it is associated in the exhibition, has hitherto escaped the knowledge of bibliographers. ”

“ 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 Bull’s Eye.” All are attractive and well-made little volumes. “Deadly Eye” is embellished by a cover portrait of Cody, done in colors.
Following the Type K books in the exhibition come 317 issues of the “Beadle’s Half-Dime Library.” ”

“ All numbers are extremely rare. It was published in 1868. Previously, in 1861, the “Dime Union Song Book” in two numbers had been brought out, containing the war songs of the North.
The third and last songster series was a pretentious royal octavo in size, and named “Beadle’s Singers’ Library.” Beginning in 1878, it continued weekly into 1879, and 43 separate numbers are known. Of these the Library possesses an almost complete file, lacking only numbers 3 and 20, with nearly all the numbers in first edition. ”

“ New York: I. P. Beadle & Co. [cop. 1860.] 40 p. diagrs. 16o.
---- Beadle’s dime book of cricket and football, being a complete guide to players, and containing all the rules and laws of the ground and games. ”

“ The illustrations borne by all the titles of this series will be found to possess unusual interest, but some of the drawings have an especial fascination. Notable in such regard are “Giant George” (No. 246) ; “Sierra Sam’s Pard” (No. 253) ; “The Scalp King” (No. 288) ; and “Ker-Whoop, Ker-Whoo” (No. 318) .
The largest group of all, in the Library exhibit, is that representing the Type M publications of Beadle. These were collectively known as the Dime Library, of which each issue was an imperial octavo of thirty-two pages, with an illustration on the front cover. ”

“ 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. ”

“ That literature itself has almost disappeared, but its effects on the national life are everywhere still present.
In the exhibition are shown about sixty-eight different examples of the famous “original yellow back” Dime Novels, which began to appear in 1860. No less than seventeen of the first twenty-five 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. ”

“ All relate to American pioneer life. This series was enlarged to folio size after the fifteenth issue, and two examples in the larger form are in the exhibit. One of them is “Oonomoo, the Huron,” by Ellis. Of this tale Senator Zachariah Chandler once said: “The man who does not enjoy ‘Oonomoo the Huron’ has no right to live.”
“The New York Library,” issued under the Frank Starr imprint for a short time in 1877 is next represented by No. ”

“ Many of the songs themselves, both in title and text, reveal the prevalence of an artificial sentimentality, a tolerance of crime and 16 vulgarity, a worship of alcohol, and a laxity of morals decidedly in contrast with ideas now prevailing. ”

“ New York, October 28, 1842. Letter to Erastus F. Beadle. Favorable criticism of Beadle’s specimens of wood engraving, with suggestions for further study before trying to locate in New York City; “the profession is already too full” in New York City. ”