Henry Altemus Company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Henry Altemus Company was a publishing company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for almost a century, from 1842 to 1936.[1][2]
| Status | Defunct |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1842 |
| Founder | Henry Altemus |
| Defunct | 1936 |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Publication types | Books |
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[4] included the Young People's Library, Wee Books for Wee Folks, and their numerous juvenile series books.[1][5] Among the latter are those written by H. Irving Hancock.
