Info On Old Book

I purchased this old book of Swiss Family Robinson at the ts today. I know it has condition issues but I liked it and bought it anyways. The book is missing the first couple of pages so I am lacking info on it. The book ends on page number 404. I was trying to find out what year and any other info on the book that the first couple of pages may have had. I searched around on the internet but could not find the same book. Any information on the book would be helpful. Thanks in advance for all replies.

 

That is a challenge. I don't know who P&M is and can find no reference to a publishing house of that name on line. Perhaps someone else will have better luck. In the meantime, are any of the illustrations signed?

Debora

 

I looked through the book and I didn't find any other illustrations other than the 1 I already posted above.

 

2many's partner here. There are over 1000 English-language editions of SFR listed on Worldcat, a catalogue of books held in world libraries, from 1812 on. A few from 1888 and 1900 are noted as being the "seventh edition", but there are dozens if not hundreds of editions and translations, including a ninth edition as early as 1834. I find one version on Abebooks, published by Donohue, Henneberry in Chicago, of 404 pages, but the binding described is different - no photo or date is offered. The work was long out of copyright by the late Victorian period, so anyone could print it.

The period would be 1890-1900 or so, based on the binding style, materials, & decorations. My theory is that P & M was a start-up of the day, offering classics sold by door-to-door salesmen, and did not last long. Those initials match no publishers I know or find in the Worldcat listings - though I only looked at 1880-1900. Publishing in that era was wild & woolly, with schisms, mergers, and failure not uncommon. There were probably several 'children's classics' produced by them, in identical bindings. They might well have pirated the Donohue Henneberry edition, or bought DH's old plates, or even used their own binding on pages printed by DH. The cheapness (apologies) of the paper & binding are common to books of that type & time.

 

Thanks 2manybooks, lots of great info you provided there. I guess exact details may remain a mystery at this time then. Debora, thanks to you also for looking into this.

 

@2manybooks partner
Excellent information
This an area I'm not well versed in. Was unaware that the book industry was so "shifty".

Thank you for joining in.

 

The book industry operated like pirates back in the day. But, as above, the paper quality indicates yours was not an expensive volume. And, with damage, etc. no resale value so you can just read and enjoy.

Debora

 

@Thrifster , can you make out any of the partial words at the bottom of the spine? That usually will be the publisher's name. I have flipped the picture and cropped it, slightly sharpened it. Looks like an "AR" as part of a word but I can't make out the rest. It almost looks like an "H" before that. I don't think it's Harcourt, which is the first name that came to mind.

@2manybooks ' partner, do you have any other thoughts on that?

 

Harcourt?

 

Sorry, didn't read the entire post.

 

Thanks. The tops of the letters following the AR just don't look to me like they could be COURT.

 

Harcourt started in 1919 anyway.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English-language_book_publishing_companies#H

 

He will be back later. He is out buying MORE books.

 

I think you're right, this would be the publisher's name, and P & M is, perhaps, a series title, like Places & Men or People & Manners...I dunno.

@Iowa Jayhawk's link to H publishers is good; searching the Worldcat listings from the appropriate time period should offer some matching suspects, but I still think it's a more obscure publisher, and I'm not absolutely sure that's a 'H'. I did do some surfing on Abebooks looking at pictures of possible publishers from 1890-1905, but saw nothing similar, which is why I think it's a small-time, short-lived operation.

 

Thanks for replying! I don't necessarily think it's an H, either. I wrote "it almost looks like an H." Not very precise, but I meant it might be an H.

Good idea about the P&M possibly satanding for the name of a series.

 

Figtree3, here's a couple more pictures of the book. Sorry about the delay in posting them.

 

Perhaps "Pollard & MA"

 

Might be Pollard & Moss. I have found other books published by them c. 1880s with the same cover design:

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=13796473831&cm_sp=SEARCHREC-_-WIDGET-L-_-BDP-F&searchurl=yrh=1900&yrl=1880&pn=pollard+moss&xpod=on&bi=h&ds=30&bx=off&sortby=17&recentlyadded=all

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30235008729&searchurl=yrh=1900&yrl=1880&pn=pollard+moss&xpod=on&bi=h&ds=30&bx=off&pics=on&sortby=17&recentlyadded=all&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-image10

 

2manybooks, could be, looked like the letters "MA" on the book but certainly could be "MO". Thanks for the info!

 

Clever you! 1879-1890. Began as a subscription publisher, hence quality. Here's an intact spine.

Debora