Vintage Collectible Books

Published by M.A. Donohue and Company

by Mary Katherine May of Quality Music and Books

LINK ONE to information about M.A. Donohue and Company

LINK TWO to the Lucile Project, M.A. Donohue and Company

A time consuming part of the vintage and antiquarian bookseller's job is searching for information about books prior to listing them for sale.  Although the internet holds a wealth of information previously difficult to obtain, without the correct search keywords little will be found.

Most often the seller doesn't need a lot of information, only enough to fill out the little details explaining what the value of owning the particular vintage book is by reason of publisher, series, genre, biographical, or point in history, for example.

I discover a good amount of particulars in old advertisements found in professional journals and magazine now in public domain, many available through Google scans and Archive.org.  Less accessible are the advertisements published in the old books, and this is what you will find in this blog post.

Andy Grant's Pluck
Horatio Alger, Jr.
M.A. Donohue and Co.

Andy Grant's Pluck by Horatio Alger, Jr.,
M.A. Donohue and Company

The following advertisements were scanned from the book titled Andy Grant's Pluck by Horatio Alger, Jr., published by M.A. Donohue and Company, Chicago. The copy that I have is paper printed to look like cloth with illustration over boards, not the cloth edition.


Donohue published for the mass market reading audience. His publications were reprints manufactured with inexpensive materials. M.A. Donohue books are a reasonably priced collectible as a media type genre. They are hard to find in near fine or fine condition because the inexpensive paper and other binding materials when handled and read just don't hold up that well over time.

For example, I see that the copy I have listed for sale is on this list: The Best of the Famous Alger Stories for Boys.  The ad includes a short description of the Alger editions: A new edition, five by seven and a half inches, printed from new plates. Substantially bound, and stamped in colors on the front cover in several designs. Distinctively a good looking edition of the Alger Books, and better in many ways than some of the higher priced books.

The Best of the Favorite Alger Stories for Boys

The Best of the Famous Alger Stories for Boys Advertisement
M.A. Donohue and Company

Regarding the quality of the print, you can judge for yourself by looking at the photograph below. Interesting to note is that the inking on the ad pages is more even than the book text.

Andy Grant's Pluck, page 180.

The Wonder Island Boys by Roger T. Finlay

Thrilling adventures on land and sea of two boys and a man cast upon an island in the South Seas without food or weapons; their experience in fashioning clothing, tools and weapons, and in overcoming nature and subduing and civilizing savage tribes; covers a wide range of subject.

The Boy Globe Trotters by Elbert Fisher

This is a series of form books relating the adventures of two boys who made a trip around the world, working their way as they go. They meet with various peoples having strange habits and customs, and their adventures from a medium for the introduction of much instructive matter relative to the character and industries of the cities and countries through which they pass. A description is given of the native sports of boys in each of the foreign countries through which they travel. The books are illustrated by decorative head and end pieces for each chapter, their being 36 original drawings in each book, all by the author, and four striking half tones.

The Wonder Island Boys Series by Roger T. Finlay Advertisement
The Boy Globe Trotters Series by Elbert Fisher Advertisement

Boys' Copyrighted Books

The most attractive and highest class list of copyright books for boys ever printed. In this list will be found the works of W. Bert Foster, Capt. Ralph Bonehill, Arthur M. Winfield, etc. Printed form large clar type, illustrated, bound in a superior quality of cloth. 

The Clint Webb Series by W. Bert Foster

The Young Sportsman's Series by Capt. Ralph Bonehill

Sea and Land Series: Four Boys' Books by Favorite Authors

Adventure and Jungle Series

Young Hunters Series by Capt. Ralph Bonehill

Bright and Bold Series by Arthur M. Winfield

College Library for Boys by Archdeacon Farrar

Boys' Copyrighted Books Advertisement

The Victory Scouts Series by Captain Alan Douglas, Scoutmaster

Stories from the pen of a writer who possesses a thorough knowledge of his subject. In addition to the stories there is an addenda in which useful boy scout nature lore is given, all illustrated. There are the following twelve titles in the series.

The Victory Boy Scouts Series by Captain Alan Douglas Scoutmaster Advertisement