Illustrating Horatio Alger: Books

Julius the Street Boy

Alger, Horatio, Jr.Julius the Street Boy, or Life in the West. By Horatio Alger, Jr. … with five illustrations by J. Watson Davis. NY: A.L. Burt Company, Publishers, [ca. 1905]

Davis, J. Watson. Illustration forJulius the Street Boy. Caption: "‘Hold!' shouted Julius. ‘One step further and I fire.'" p. 215. 25 x 16.9 cm.

This is one of the "Ornamental Diamond Format" books, introduced in 1905, originally appearing as the Copyright Edition of the Alger Series for Boys, in Burt's catalogues. It sold for $1 at time of issue. Bradford S. Chase, one of the major bibliographers for Alger, devised a system for telling different issues of Alger's works apart, describing the bindings in the process. Below you will find several examples of his format descriptions.

"Ornamental Diamond" Format

"Green/Tulip" Format

"Three Circles Format"


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