The sales of Louisa May Alcott's books
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Citation Myerson, Joel, and Daniel Shealy. 1990. The sales of Louisa May Alcott's books. Harvard Library Bulletin 1 (1), Spring 1990: 47-86.
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The Sales of Louisa May Alcott's Books
Joel Myerson and Daniel Shealy
ouisa May Alcott and Roberts Brothers of Boston had one of the most mutually Lprofitable author-publisher relationships in nineteenth-century American literature. Alcott's books helped to establish the firm, which in turn, provided her • with literary advice and enough monies in royalties for what Louisa called "the pathetic family" finally to establish a secure and comfortable standard of living. ,. Fortunately, this two-decade-long relationship is well documented in the correspon- dence of Alcott and Thomas Niles of Roberts Brothers, and in the Roberts Brothers costbooks. 1 Using these documents and others, we will trace Alcott's career with Roberts Brothers and then provide detailed information on the firm's sales of her books. 2 In the summer of 1863, Louisa May Alcott prepared to publish her "Hospital Sketches" in book form. The sketches, having been developed from her letters to her family while Alcott was a nurse at the Union Hotel Hospital in Georgetown, D.C., had already attracted considerable attention when published in the Boston Commo11111calththat spring. James Redpath, the noted abolitionist, had even con- tacted Alcott about publishing the letters as a book. In her June 1863 journal, she noted that Roberts Brothers, a small Boston publishing firm, had "also asked, but I preferred Redpath [-1 said yes, so he fell to work with all his might.'' 3 Alcott had
chosen Redpath because she knew him to be an abolitionist; however, in 1877, after JOEL MYERSON 1s Professor of rereading this journal entry, she entered into the margin a revealing remark: "Short- English at the University of sighted, Louisa! little did you dream that this same Roberts, or rather Bros. (mean- South Carolina, in Columbia, ing T[homas]. N[iles].) were to help you make your fortune a few years later. Redpath South Carolina. had no skill as a publisher & the Sketches never made much money, but showed DANIEL SHEALY is Assistant me 'my style'. & taking the hint I went where glory waited me" (p. 124n). What Professor of English at the Alcott had developed with Hospital Sketches (1863) was a style that combined fast- University of North Carolina, paced narrative with autobiographical events-a style that gave her works the touch in Charlotte, North Carolina.
1 The Roberts Brothers· costbooks art' us,-d with the 1wr- publications of Alcott's works by ocher Am,-r1cm firms; n1ission of Little. Brown and Company and the Hough- primarily n:printing~ of L'ariicr title~ designed to c.1.sh in ton L1hrJrv orH.1rv,nd U11ivc·rsin·, \Vhrre thcv Jre now on hL'r sudd1,,.'nt~1nw 3ftcr l.itrll' Hlm1n1 appeared, chc mosr 0 n dcposi(. W,· arc ~rateful to lu;lith M. Kcnncdv ,111d not..i.ble \VJt, the rcprinnng of .,fonilng-G/c1rif_,, 1H1d Other l:lrrnda Tavlor of little, Brown f~r their assist;mcc in.mak- Sr,>rii·, by G. W. Carleton of New York in 1871. There • ing these ~nd other Rob,·rts Brothers and l ittk Brown arc no records fi.)r the- numc.:rous Uriush piracies of Alcott's records .J\'Jtlahlt: tom. We also thmk P:itrick G Scott rnd books, beginning with Lillie 11;,111t·11,and rnntinuint; MadL·leinc B. Stern for thl·ir co1nmc11ts nn Jn eJrlii..·r \'(.'r- through her death 111 18HH. Alcott does list her earnings sion of thh, article_ from the authoriz,·d editions oi her works by the Tauch- 2 Few records arc available for Alcott's books published nitz tirm. but they .ire few and arc outside the scope of between 1855 and 186H by (;eor,;c W. Uri~~s.James Red- our prcs(~nt study. path. Aaron K. Lorin~. Horan· H Fuller. Tl1011ws and Tal- ' Tht.f,)wflal., lf /.( 111/_,,1_,/d)' .-\fcl,11,l'd __llH.:I Myers,in .::i.nd bot. or Elliutt. Thon;e,. and T.1lhot (for a ]1st c,ftl1t·sc·.sec D,micl Shelly: assoc ed., Madeleine IJ Stern (!Joston: Lit- ,. Jacob Ubnck, DiM1<1~r,1p/1y,f A111erirn11 Lila,,tuff. 7 vols_ tle. Urown. 1989). P- 119. Subsequent references to this to date [New Hawn: Y.1k UniYcrsitv Press, 1955- ). edition will be cited 111 the text. l:27-30) Similarly. few records exist ti.;r the unauth,,rized
I), ,,. 48 HARVARD LIBRARY BULLETIN
Portrait of Louisa May A/coll, published C'S a frontispiece to her Life, Letters, and Journals (1890).
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of universality. But glory awaited her just five years later, in 1868, when she pub- lished her first book with Roberts Brothers-Little Women. Her publishing career, and her life, would never be the same again. Alcott would publish eleven novels and fourteen volumes of short stories under the Roberts Brothers' imprint, and her professional relationship with Thomas Niles, editor and later partner in the firm, would endure for twenty years, until Alcott's death in 1888. During that period, Niles's ideas and suggestions for her literary works helped make Alcott into one of the nineteenth century's best-selling authors. Roberts Brothers had begun as a bookbinding company in 1849 but failed in 1859 and was sold. However, the principal founder, Lewis Augustine Roberts, estab- lished a second firm in 1861, this time specializing in photograph albums, which
•,- Louisa May Alcott's Sales 49
were then becoming popular in England and America. The company's name changed from "Bookbinders and Photograph Album Manufacturers" to "Publishers and Booksellers and Manufacturers of Photograph Albums" in 1864. During the last half of the nineteenth century, until Little, Brown and Company bought the firm in 1898, Roberts Brothers published high-quality books of many famous Ameri- can authors, including Helen Hunt Jackson, Edward Everett Hale, and Emily Dick- inson. They were also the authorized publishers of such British authors as Christina and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Oscar Wilde, and Robert Louis Stevenson. But their real success began when Thomas Niles added Louisa May Alcott to that reputable list of writers. Thomas Niles, a Boston native, joined the company in 1863. Niles's prior experience was noteworthy, for he had worked in the Old Corner Book Store, begin- ning in 1839, under the supervision of William D. Ticknor. Working with Niles was the young clerk James T. Fields, later editor of the Atlantic li1onthly A1agazi11e. The Old Corner Book Store brought Niles into contact with some of the most important American authors of the day: Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Russell Lowell, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. However, when James R. Osgood joined the publishing company in 1855, Niles's chances for becoming a partner faded, and he resigned. For the next three years, Niles was a member of the Boston publishing company of Whittemore, Niles, and Hall. Most of their publications were reprintings of British and European works, and the small firm could not compete with the more powerful publishing houses in Boston. They dissolved in 1858. Five years later, Niles took his experience to Roberts Brothers; he would became a partner in 1872. He remained the driving force in that respected company until his death in Italy in 1894. 4 In September 1867, Louisa May Alcott made the now famous entry in her jour- nal: "Niles, partner of Roberts, asked me to write a girls book. Said I'd try" (p. 158). Despite her taste of success with Hospital Sketches, she was as yet unpre- pared for the fame and fortune Roberts Brothers of Boston was about to bring her. Her father, Bronson Alcott, writing on 19 February 1868, told her that he had talked to Niles about " 'the story for girls' " which Roberts Brothers had asked her to write. He found they "expect it" and wanted it completed "by September at lon- gest," and desired the book to be "200 pages or more." He added: "Mr. Niles, the literary partner, spoke in terms of admiration of your literary ability, thinking most highly of your rising fame and prospects." 3 In May she confided in her journal that she was working on the book for Niles but that she did not "enjoy this sort of thing," since she had never "liked girls or knew many, except my sisters; but our queer plays and experiences may prove interesting, though I doubt it." Later, when the book had made her famous and wealthy, she inserted the following comment about her prediction: "Good joke" (pp. 165-66). In June 1868 she sent twelve chapters to Niles, who, she said, "thought it dull," although his letter to her on 16 June indicated otherwise: "I have read the 12 chapters & am pleased-I ought to be more emphatic & say delighted, so please to consider judgement' as favorable." She persevered, believing "lively, simple books are very much needed for girls, and perhaps I can supply the need" (p. 166). If Niles had a book of 300 pages, he could, "if closely printed" publish a volume "to sell
• Riymond L. Kilgour. .\!c,srs Roht"rtsBroth,-rs P11hlishcrs (Ann ' '/he Lcrrcrs of:-\. Br,,,L • 50 HARVARD LIBRARY BULLETIN at $1.25 or $1.50." The twelve chapters, or 24 7 pages of manuscript, supplemented by the eight or ten others she had completed, "would make the book full large enough." Niles also offered Alcott a title for the novel: "What do you say to this for a title Little ~'Viimen. Meg, Jo Beth, and Amy The story of their lives I3y [sic] Louisa M. Alcott. First Series." Unlike her previous publishers, Niles also asked her to name her price, telling her to "set your price in this story." If this book prospered, "the succeeding volumes" would be "furnished at the same.'' 6 Alcott was dubious about the success of the book, and was not sure she could write a sequel. She informed her new publisher that " 'Little Women,' had better be the title for No 1. 'Young Women,' or something of that sort, for No 2, f there is a No 2." Since she had planned for twenty chapters, Alcott was surprised that Niles wanted twenty-four. She told him she did not "see how it can be spun out to make twenty four chapters & give you your 400 pages" but promised to "do my best however.'' 7 Disappointed that Alcott was unsure whether she could write "another girl's book," Niles wanted her to consider, at least, keeping the ending open for a possible sequel, and on 25 July 1868 he advised her that he was "not sure that it would not be best to add another chapter to 'Little Women'. I have read the whole of it & I am sure it will 'hit', which means I think it will sell well." He believed that she could easily add a chapter "in which allusions might be made to something in the future." Niles also added that the "printers query of some of your 'girls talk' is quite amusing-pray what does he know, or what should he know about it." After adding more material to the book, she mailed Niles the corrected prooC including the illustrations by her sister May Alcott, on 15 July. Louisa liked " 'Meg at Vanity Fair,' admiring herself in the glass." However, she thought that "the engraver may see many faults,'' which if they were pointed out could be mended by her sis- ter May. She hoped the engraver would not "spoil the pictures & make Meg cross- eyed, Beth with no nose, or Jo with a double chin." Alcott's past experience with engravers had not been good. In an earlier work, she told Niles, they had ''ruined Miss Green's lovely designs & much afflicted" her. She included ten more chapters in her letter, "making the story 402 pages long." Since she did not have the first half of the book, she felt she had been at "rather a disadvantage, as I dont remem- ber it very well, so may have missed some of the threads" (p. 117). In August 1868, Roberts Brothers made an offer of $1,000 for the rights to Little H,fone11,but Niles wisely advised her to keep the copyright for it. In 1885. she added to her journal: "An honest publisher and a lucky author, for the copyright made her fortune, and the 'dull book' was the first golden egg of the ugly duckling" (p. 166). After reading the entire proof of the novel, in August, she decided that it "reads better than I expected.'' It was not "a bit sensational, but simple and true," because her family had "really lived most of it; and if it succeeds that will be the reason of it." Niles, she noted, had told her that "some girls who have read the manuscripts say it is 'splendid!' As it is for them, they are the best critics, so I should be satisfied" (p. 166). • Thomas Nik, to Louis., M.n· Akntt, Houi;hton Library. .., Tfo· Sdco,,,I ttlfl•rs ,fLl,11isa.\l,1y A.kl)fl. cd_Jod Myerson H.1n·,1rd UrnvL'r.:;ity. All of the kttL'rs from ThomJ.'> Nile~ .llld D,micl S\wJ\v; assoc. ed .. MJddc-i,w ll. Stnn (Boston: tn Lo11is.1 Akotr ""' from the Akutt Collcnton Jr rhc Lirtk. Brown. l'IH7), p. I lh. Subsequent rdi:rrnccs to this Houghton L1brarv ,md ,ire u~l·d hy penrrn,~ion o( the L'd1tiu11 will h: (ltL'd in the text. Hou~hton library. ILn\'.lrd University, Lo11is,1:Hay Alrorr'.i Sales Sl Little fVilll1e11or .Hc,R,]o, Beth, ,md A.my was published by Roberts Brothers in early October 1868. It \Vas immediately successful. Writing to Mary E. Channing Higginson. wife of Colonel Thomas Wentworth Higginson, on 18 October, Alcott expressed her gratitude at the praise being heaped upon her: "I am glad my 'Little Women' please you. for the book was very hastily ,vritten to order & l had many doubts about the success of my first attempt at a girl ·s book." She \vent on to expla111 that she thought the book was well liked because her ''characters were drawn from life, which gives them whatever merit they possess.'' She also found "it impossible to invent anything half so true or touching as the simple facts with which everyday life supplies me." Though she enjoyed writing the book. she \Vas not sure she could continue with that style because it did not "pay as well as rubbish, a mercenary consideration which has weight with persons \vho write not from the inspiration of genius but of necessity." Thomas W. Higginson had given her "the praise which I value most highly'' when he had called the story" 'good. & American' ,. (p. 118). On the first of November, she began writing the second part of Little l1ome11. She planned to write a chapter a day. thus finishing in a month. She now found "my 'Marches' sober, nice people,'' but complained that many girls had written "to ask who the little women marry. as if that was the only end and aim of a woman's life." Alcott stubbornly refused to comply, saying: "I J11011'r marry Jo to Laurie to please any one" (p. 167). On 1 April 1869, she confided to her artist friend. Elizabeth B. Greene, that she hated the new illustrations for the sequel. May Alcott had provided the illustra- tions for the first part of Little f·Vii111c11;however. they \Vere the inferior drawings of an amateur, and for the second volume, Roberts Brothers had engaged Hammet Billings. a well-known illustrator. She told Greene: "Oh. Betsy' such trials as I have had with that Billings no mortal creter knows!" He had drawn "Amy a fat girl with a pug of hair. sitting among weedy shrubbery with a light-house under her nose. & a mile or two off a scrubby little boy on his stomach in the grass look111g cross, towzly, & about 14 years old!" Not satisfied with the drawing, she had "bundled it right back & blew Niles up to such an extent that I thought he'd never come down again." Of course she noted that he had returned to normal, "as brisk & bland as ever," and had ordered Billings "to work again ... However. she was still not pleased with the changes, telling Greene that she would "shout when you see the new one for the man followed my directions & made (or tried to) Laurie 'a mixture of Apollo, Byron, Tito, & Will Greene.' Such a baa lamb! hair paned in the middle, big eyes, sweet nose. lovely moustache & cunning hands; straight out of a bandbox & no more like the real Teddy than Ben Franklin." Finally Alcott decided to let the new illustrations go because girls were ''clamoring & the book cant be delayed" (p. 126). Three days later, Niles informed Alcott that all was ready for publication and that he approved of "all the pictures but one. Beth & Joe [sic] on the sea shore, which is rather a failure." Noting that 3.000 copies had been ''sold in advance," Niles tnld her that "the 4th 1000 is printing" and that "the 7th Ed. of the 1 st" was also under- way. with 55,000 having been sold. With the second volume barely in press. Niles was already encouraging Alcott to write another book: "Pray let this incite you to finish the 'New Story by Miss Alcott' ... & to start another for publication in October or November. 'Make hay \Vhile the sun shines' .. (4 April 1869). Little TVim,cn or ,Hcg, J,i,Beth and A.my. Part Scw11d was published in April 1869. On 29 April, Niles wrote her about the book's reception. saying that he had "not seen the per- son yet who does not like the second as well or better than the first," and he warned 52 HARVARD LIBRARY BULLETIN that if she did not "send some pictures of Jo March, Concord will be infested with deputations of 'little women' & their 'Lauries'; you have your choice." Wanting to capitalize on Alcott's rapidly growing popularity, Niles consulted Horace B. Fuller, who now owned the copyright to Hospital Sketches, about the pos- sibility of buying it back. He wanted Alcott to enlarge it into a companion volume to the two Little Tt'omennovels. On 29 April 1869, he informed Alcott that he had bought "the 'Hospital Sketches' " and a month later, on 26 May, wrote he was looking forward to a "iiniftmn set of volumes." The book, they decided, should have two parts: "4 War Stories and 4 others." Niles was ready for the title and informed her that they had already had "an inquiry yesterday for Miss Alcotts 'Camp and Fireside Stories.' " Always eager to meet his readers' expectations, Niles suggested • they "christen it Hospital Sketches and Camp and Fireside Stories." Using some material from the first edition of Hospital Sketches and some stories from On Picket Duty (1864), Alcott added eight previously uncollected pieces and published the book in August 1869. Christmas 1869 proved a happy one for Alcott. Her new publisher sent her half- year statement and check, along with a congratulatory letter: "At this 'Merry Christmas' time, when the inspiration of your mind is gladdening the hearts and homes of so many thousands, we would not forget the author; and we feel that we are but the factors of a public, who quick to recognize the genius displayed in 'Little Women,' where by a 'touch of nature,' you have made the 'whole world kin,' generously enable us to silver line your pocket." Three days later, Alcott thanked them, noting that after "toiling so many years along the up-hill road, always a hard one to women writers, it is peculiarly grateful to me to find the way growing eas- ier at last; with pleasant little surpises blossoming on either side, and the rough places made smooth by the courtesy and kindness of those who have proved them- selves 'friends' as well as 'publishers' " (p. 129). On 14 March 1870, the agreement for her next book, An Old-FashionedGirl, arrived from Niles. A foreign market would have to be bargained for separately, and Roberts Brothers arranged with Sampson Low to publish an edition in London. 8 Roberts Brothers agreed to pay her ten percent on the retail price of all copies printed and sold in America, excluding review copies. They also planned to continue their past agreement on the previous books: ten percent on the retail price of all copies of Little Wim1m sold, and five percent on the retail cost of all copies of Hospital Sketches sold. Ten days later, Niles congratulated Alcott: "YtJu are the magician, or rather you are the good genius who answers all the rubbings of the magic lamp. I hope we shan't lose the lamp. We are busy packing up the Old Fash. Girl and hope to be able to say that 10,000 are all sold by publication day." On 2 April 1870, the publication date for An Old-Fashioned Girl, Alcott set sail for Brest, France, with her sister May and May's companion Alice Bartlett, in part to rest and restore her health, which had been in decline ever since her stint of nursing during th!C'Civil War. While she was abroad, Niles kept her informed of her increasing popularity. On 5 April he wrote: "Dear 'Jo' Excuse the familiarity but 'make believe' I am one of the million admirers of 'Little Women.' " He included a copy of the 11 The A.mair.m Litcwry Crlzcflc noted An ( )/d l-'11.,hi,medCir/ on 15 March 1870. Lo1<''-'.\f,,11thly B11//,-1i11advertised it JS for 1 April on I March 1870. md 1t was listed thne on ·'about to publish." and the P,rh/ishcrs' Cirrnlar a11dB,,,,k- 15 April However. evidence ,!so suggests that the rnthor scflcrs' Rerord announced it as J •'new book'. on I April had inscribed .1 copy 1n March 1870. The llritish edition 1870 (see Blanck. Bihlio.~raphy,,f"A.mcnra11 Lircral11rc. I :'.12). ,. may hJvc been issued J few days before the Arncric.rn one: !> ,,. I Louisa /ilay Alcott's Sales 53 *.EX* JtM{~iMi 0EER.T~SR.0THER_g \, *iosTON* I> 2 April Boston Tnmscript which contained "a complimentary notice of L. M. A. Title page of a pri111ingof the Jl/11s- & her Old F. G." Niles reported chat nearly 18,000 copies of A.11Old-h1Shio11ed Girl rratedLdition of Little Women, rcprod11cedat aclllal size, had been '·ordered by booksellers," although they had only "been able to supply 12,000." Thus, Roberts Brothers had "to deliver 3000 more on the 6th & 7th & balance a few days later, by wh. time let us pray that 6000 mtH'C may be ordered.'' 54 HARVARD LIBRARY IlULLETIN He was quick to remind her that a new book should be in the works since "Anx- ious enquiries are being made for 'Little Men.''' Alcott waited months before beginning Little ,Hl'II, noting in a letter home on 8 July 1870 that she lay "round reading novels from morning till night, without an idea in my head or any desire for one." She was afraid Niles would "have to wait a long time for any new work." 9 On 30 August, he wrote he believed she should concentrate on a new book for Roberts Brothers instead of writing for every newspaper that requested a short story, which she could "turn out ad libit1111t.""DcJJote yourself entirely to the works which will insure you both a permanency in the niche of fame and a handsome income,'' he wrote. Niles felt the timing for another book critical, that if a "new work" of Alcott's were published the following May, it would "find the people ripe for it with a dearth of any pop11/arbooks to aid it." Surely, Niles believed, nothing could be "more acceptable to the little millions of admirers of 'Jo' than a history of her boys." His suggestion of" 'Little Men: or the History of Jo's Boys'" as a "taking title" obviously caught her imagination, for on 17 January 1871, he received word from Alcott that she had begun working up a sequel to the March family history, and sent word he was delighted she was " 'simmering away' " in " 'Little Men.' " On 17 March, Niles wrote Alcott that Bronson had told him she had "18 out of 24 chapters" ready, but said he felt "in the dark" because he did not know whether he or Sampson Low was to get the manuscript. He was "daily, nay, hourly, expect- ing to hear" from her about this problem, for he had already "printed & circu- lated" an advertising circular "by thousands all over the U.S." for the new novel and thought "the country will be ripe for the book before we can get it out." They had "sent off 20,000 copies" of An Old-Fashioned Girl before they "caught up" with orders and hoped to "do as well" with Little Alen. He also told her that one of "the heroes" of the new book came in to Boston with Bronson to see him and "by his modesty gave ample assurance he did not know of the immortality in store for him." Little :'\!e11,subtitled "Life at Ph1111(ieldwith Jo's Boys," was published in late May or early June 1871. By mid-June it had sold some 30,000 copies. 10 Alcott agreed to accept Sampson Low as her British publisher, and they issued the novel in England in June. Thomas Niles and Bronson Alcott met Louisa's ship at Boston Harbor "with a great red placard of 'Little Men' pinned up in the carriage" (p. 178). Pleased with the huge sales, Niles generously agreed to give Alcott more profits if she promised not to "divulge the secret for if Mrs [Harriet Beecher] Stowe, or others, knew we were paying you more than ten per cent our 'column' would meet a Parisian fate." The new agreement allowed Alcott a copyright of eighteen cents per copy on every copy of Little Alm sold at the retail price of $1.50, thus being the equivalent of twenty per cent on the wholesale price. Niles had also been told by one of his literary friends that there were places in Little l\1en which " 'Miss A. never has excelled nor ever will.' " The friend had " 'already bought & given aw:iy 3 copies,' " and he desired "'10 copies more'" for Niles to mail to "Kansas, Min[n], Ohio, &c &c" (7 June 1871). On 9 June 1871, Niles wrote Alcott with good news about the new work, tell- ing her that Edward Everett Hale had said " 'Mrs. Hale and every one I hear of, ' loui,.1 M.iv Alcott 10 th,· Alcott f,1111ilv. H Jul, IH70 Liu/(,\ fn1 h.ui alrcJdv L'Xcccdcd ~OJ JOOrn JdLrncc <1rdcrs (nunu~cripr L-or\· by Brnni,;on Alcott). Houghton Libr,1ry. It w,1,; .-tg,lill h~rt·d in the IS Jun1..'111n11hL·r nfthe A.mcnrm1 H,lr\'Jrd Univcrc;ity LlftT1Jr)' ( ;u:;-ettc.which rrn_-1uinnsthe figure of J(J,000 copic--; in The A111cr1(<11Il.itrrary ( ;azt'lft' of I June .mnnunccd thJt sold (s1..·cHl.111ck, H1hliogri1ehy t:{ :\ 111erir,111L11er,//11n'. I _J.1) 55 tells me 'Little Men' is the best thing Miss Alcott has done.' " Niles assured her that if they could "judge by the way booksellers are renewing their orders, the public [also] think so." The sales to date, he reported. were 28,500. But as soon as that figure was written "a telegram from NYork orders 500 more." Those summer months of 1871 found Alcott ill. able only to gather enough old material for a new book that would tide her over until she recovered enough to start another novel. Her new book, :\1y Boys. was published in early January 1872. the first of a six-volume series of short stories entitled Aunt Jo's Scrap-Ba_{;.All but three of the fourteen stories in the first book had been published earlier in .Herry 's ,\11151.'lilll, the children's periodical Alcott edited for Horace B. Fuller in 186 7. This pattern of mingling old and new fiction continued throughout the series and indeed through the remaining twenty-one years of her life. In November 1872, the second volume, Slw11,f-Straps,was published, and contained a fictionalized account of Alcott's European travels in 1870-1871, parts of which had appeared in various newspapers. The third volume, C11pidand Chou1-Choll', came out in January 187-1-;eight of its ten stories were reprinted from various periodicals. My Girls, published in early Janu- ary 1878, included twelve stories, ten of which were reprints. The fifth volume of Scrap-Bag, entitledjin1111y's Cmise i11the Pinafore, contained seven old stories. along with six new ones, and was published in October 1879. The final volume, ,r\11Old- Fashioned Thmzksgiving, appeared in 1882. a compilation of mostly older stories pub- lished in ,\Jomi11g-Glories,and Other Stories in 1868. The volumes satisfied Alcott's readers in the intervals in which she was feeling ill or working on longer works, and Roberts Brothers, of course, was pleased because the collections kept the author's name before her public. Following the publication of My Boys, Alcott began rewriting Suaess (retitled fi,~irk), an unpublished novel she had started in 1850. The novel itself recounted, in fic- tional disguise. her own days as a working girl. "Some of your girls experiences [are] in it,'' she told her father on 8 December 1872. Four chapters were complete and the first installment would appear in the Christmas number of the Christian Union, despite the objections of Niles, who felt the large circulation of the newspaper would greatly affect the sales in book form. Alcott thought the book to be "dull," and therefore, felt it would "go well." Alcott went against Niles's advice. and proudly told her father that the editor had "sent me SlOOOon account'' (p. 174). Niles wrote congratulating her "on the great artistic success of the opening chapter." He thought she had never "done a more taking bit of writing." If the "promise" of that chapter continued, she would "have something to be proud of." But he also pleaded for her not to have "tails to your title." Instead, he thought she should call it "simply- 'Work.' " He added: "nothing more 011any aaount, not even as a heading to the Lions Weekly." Alcott again refused to yield to his suggestion. and the first installment appeared in the 18 December 1872 edition of the Christian Un/011as H/iirk:or Christie's Experi111rntand was serialized through twenty-seven issues, ending on 18 June 1873. The first chapters were also reprinted in the 2January 1873 /lldependrnt and the 18 January Hearth @d Home as advertisements for the book, which was published in the spring of 1873 by Roberts Brothers, with a new subtitle, A Story of Experience. On 20 May, he sent Alcott the author's copies, and as a postscript, totaled the advance sales: "10,000 copies are already ordered. How do you like this news?" Following publication of Mt,rk and three volumes of short stories, in 1874 Alcott prepared to return to the domestic novel; by mid-August, she had engaged with Scribners to publish a serial entitled Eight Cousins in St. ,"\'icholas.a popular juvenile 56 HARVARD LIBRARY BULLETIN LOUISAM. ALCOTT'SWRITINGS. Mus Alcott is ,-ea/ly a HH4faet{lf'of ltouunolds. - H. H. Mus Alcott has a fandly of entering into t/u lives and feelings of cl,ildrm tli.at is conspimously 'WtZntingin most writa's who address I/inn ; Md to tlz,, eause, to tlu eonseifnuness amon,r "" readen tnat tluy are wring a6tn,t ~ople like tl,ems1/ves, instead of a/Jstrot:Iqualities lak/ud will, nmnes, IA, fopU!arity oflur /Jooh is due. - MRS. SARAH J. HALL Dear Aunt :JoI You art nn/Jalmed in tlu lnflll,fAII and lfltlt1 of tl,ow ,a,u/s o/ little mm and -· -ExCHANGE. Little Women; or Mea-, Jn, My ac. Finl volume of Beth, and Amy. WiLhHluatra• Aunt Jo's 1bmo • S1.oo tions. , 6mo . , , • , , , ••. 50 Sbawl•Strapa. Second volume of Hoapltal Sketches, and Camp Aunt Jo's Scrap-Dag, 16mo. . 1.00 and Flrealde Storie., Wilh Cupid and Chow-Chow, II:;. illu~trations. 16mo . • • , • 1.50 Third volume of A uni Jo'• Scrap- An Old-Fuhloned Girl Wilh illU3trariono. 16mo • • , , • ••So M~afur1~~: FOtmh oi J.oo Little Men: Life at Plumfield with Aunt /o's Scrap-Baa. 16mo . . 1.00 Jo'• Boya. 16mo 1.50 Jimmy In the Pinafore, and How they Turned ac. Fifth 'l'Olume o.l Auna Jo'• Out. A sequel lo" Little Men." Scrap-Bai:- 16mo , . . . • 1.00 Wi1htonraitof" Aunt Jo." 16mo 1.50 An Thukseiv• Inf., 11:c. Sixth volume of Aunt Ei«,~lig::;,'!~!:!: ~:.,.~u~t-~ill: •·So Jo~ Scrap-Bag. 16mo • • . . 1.00 Rose In Bloom. A aequel lo Lfttle Women. llluslrated. Em· u .Eight Couains.' 1 16mo • • • 1.,50 belli1hed with nearly :aoocharac- Under the With ill11$11'a• leristic ilhmration1 from original lions. 16bl0 . · , , , , • • , •·SO desiJllS drawn uprenly for this Jack and Jill. A Village Story. ediuon of thia noted American With illustrati<>M- 16mo . . , 1.50 Clanic. One quarto, bound Advertisementfi,r Alcott's writings, Work: A Story of E"perience. in cloth, wi1h emblematic de1i1n• 2.50 With character illustrationa by Sol Little Women Compril- _{rumpublisher's catalog at end <1( Eytinge. 16mo • , • , • • 1.50 ini: Linle Women; Little lllen; Mood1. A NoveL New edition, E11h1 Cou,ins: Under 1he Lilacs; Alcc,tt's Life, Letters and Jour- revi~ and enla~ed.. 16mo . . •·So An Old-Fuhioned Girl; Jo's nals (1890). A Modern and Boys; Roso in Bloom; Jack and A In the Dark, 16mo 1.50 JUI. 8 larJc;e16mo volwna in a 6llver Pltchen, and lndepen• han Tlies, /Jooksaf't f 01" salt al all bookstores, or will 6e maikd, post.paid, on r«eipl ofpriu, fQ any addr11s. ROBERTS BROTHERS, PuBUSHERS, Boston, JI.fas,. magazine edited by Mary Mapes Dodge, author of the children's classic Hans Brinker, or the Sil11erSkates (1865). Whenever possible, Alcott attempted to get paid twice for the same work-once for the serial and again for the book, but problems over E(~ht Cousins soon materialized. Although Scribners had the right to publish the book in serial form in America, Sampson Low, who owned the British rights, wanted to issue it in London in serial form at approximately the same time, to ensure Brit- ish copyright (an American book had to be published first in England or on the same date as the American edition to guarantee the author copyright there). Of course, Scribners did not approve of Law's intentions since they felt some issues of the British magazine might reach America, harming sales of St. Nicholas. A bit- ter battle ensued and many angry letters among Alcott, Scribners, and Low were exchanged. Roberts Brothers, who had the American rights to the book form, served Louisa .Hay Alcott's Sales 57 as mediator. Alcott, who felt Scribners was overly worried, tried to convince Dodge that Low's plans would not affect her sales in America. Although Alcott had agonized over the problem until she was almost ready to give up plans for the book, she also appreciated its humorous moments. In November 1874, she noted in her journal that she had enjoyed dealing with the publishers over the work because "all wanted it at once, and each tried to outbid the other for an unwritten story." She added: "No peddling poor little manuscripts now, and feel- ing rich with $10. The golden goose can sell her eggs for a good price, 11 if she isn't killed by too much driving" (p. 192). After all of the turmoil, Alcott obtained her English copyright, pacified Scribners, published the work in book form-and was paid three times for one novel! To ensure British copyright, it had appeared there first in the 5 December 1874 issue of Good Things and ran through twenty- five issues, ending on 27 November 1875, then Scribners published it in America in St. Nicholas fromjanuary through October 1875, and finally, Roberts Brothers brought the book, Eight Cousins: or, the Aunt-Hill, out in October 1875. As soon as Eis:ht Cousins was published, Alcott began another long work, one she had planned earlier but that had been delayed by Eight Cousins. A letter of 2 October 1874 to friends mentioned this new idea for a story, telling them that she was going to "write Youth's Companion a serial of six chapters this winter" that would be a "temperance tale," and she suggested that if they had "any facts to contribute," they would be welcomed (p. 186). Her December 1874 journal indi- cated she was ready to start "the temperance tale, for F[ord]. offers $700 for six chapters" (p. 193). Silver Pitchers started its serialization in the Youth's Companion on 6 May 1875, ending on 10 June. With new material added, the book was published in the spring of 1876 as Silver Pitchers:and Independence,A Centennial Love Story. Alcott noted in her journal that it was "Poor stuff; but the mill must keep grinding even chaff' (p. 200). By June, she was besieged by requests for tales, and she attempted to "get up steam for a new serial" for Dodge, especially since Scribners had offered $3,000 for it. Roberts Brothers also desired a novel, and newspapers and magazines "clamor[ed] for tales." Alcott declared her brain was "squeezed dry" (p. 201). On 12 July 1876, Niles updated Alcott on the status of her account. The royal- ties were low, and he hoped she would be "so vexed at the insignificant size or rather amt of the check" that she would "rush into a vortex and give us 'The Rose in Bloom' or something else nameless. We have orders daily for Rose." Her July and August journal entries revealed that she had begun the continuation of E(qht Co11si11s,even though she claimed to "hate sequels" (p. 201). Niles also was con- cerned that the new book, Rose in Bloom, not be so heavyhanded about the moral lesson; instead, it should be subtle. On 30 August, Niles wrote that the reader should "not be able to see the moral ... without looking for it hard," and that if she could Write a novel "with a moral in it wh the reader does not see till he gets through & then finds that the author has 'sold' him, such a book will make a hit." On 19 September 1876, when Niles received the manuscript of Rose in Bloom, he wrote thanking her, and telling her that the book appeared "appetizing." He Was also glad of its length, assuring her it would "make a good deal longer book" than Eight Cousins. Her preface, he thought, was good and "the titles of some of 11 When Alcott was abroad in 1870. Niles continually .\fa)' Alro11 Her L,/c,Lcllcrs, a11dJ,,,m,als[Uoston: 1-\obcrts inquired Jbuur the progre-ss of her next \Vork. Her answer Urothcrs, 18H9), pp 204-207), which suggests that more to these lnCC\sJnt queries ,v.1s a poem, "The LJ.y of the ,vorks \\.·ill prcvcn( her frorn regaining her health, a.nd thus Golden Goose·• (printed in Ednah Dow Cheney. L,,uis,1 kill off the goose that lays the golden eggs. 58 HARVARD LIBRARY BULLETIN the chapters are enough to make all the girls scream with delight and to echo 'O how jolly.' "As a postscript, the confirmed bachelor slyly added, "I shall take Rose home tonight with me." Rose in Bloom was published in late November 1876 by both Roberts Brothers and Sampson Low. In the preface, dated September 1876, Alcott claimed the book contained "no moral."' She added: "Rose is designed for a model girl: and the sequel was simply written in fulfillment of a promise; hoping to afford some amusement, and perhaps here and there a helpful hint. to other Roses getting ready to bloom." Obviously Alcott remembered Niles's advice about hiding the moral deep within the tale so as not to make it obvious to the reader. While Alcott was writing RtJSein Bloom, Niles brought news about the new No Name Series that Roberts Brothers had recently begun. The books in this series were written by various authors and published anonymously; the public then attempted to identify correctly the writers. On 30 August 1876, Niles wrote Alcott that he wanted her to revise an old manuscript she had started years ago when writing sensational tales. The book, A 1\--todcrnMephistopheles, was inspired by Goethe's Faust, yet it was so unlike any of Alcott's known works that Niles was certain the public would be duped, and he implored her to "fix it up & if you want to sell it outright, not thinking it worth anything, name the price.'' He promised that he would "never divulge the authorship." On 30 December 1876, Niles again beseeched Alcott to give him A .'\.lodern Aft'phistophelesfor his new series, vowing the author's anonymity. He knew, he told her, that "viewed in a pecuniary light," a writer "of reputation, whose name would sell a book," could not usually "afford to go behind an incog & a publisher cannot afford to pay for this loss." But, on this occasion, he felt it was "the novelty of the plan & the amusement to be derived from it wh. I want authors to consider & I would also like to have you look at it as a friendly aid to your publisher who has set his heart on the success of the 'No Name Series' and who will be sadly injured in reputation if it fails." Early in the new year of 1877, Alcott finally sent Niles the long-awaited A Atodem .\1ephistopheles,and he wrote back on 19 January full of excitement over the portion he had just read. Telling her that the novel "opens superbly," he claimed he could not "imagine what is corning & therein is one of the strongest points in a story." Niles was certain this book would stump the readers; they would never think "that the author of L. W. wrote it." Neither did the novel "resemble" her adult books like :\.Joods(1865); instead, Niles found it "very queer, queer as the title wh. is a most excellent one." He encouraged her to "finish it speedily." After reading more of the novel, Niles wrote again on 23 January, telling Alcott how fascinated he was with the work and how he was "beginning to feel as though I wanted to choke that 'Modern Mephistopheles.' " He felt there was "something quite fascinating about the reality & the unreality of the story." The characters were "mortal,'' the "localities" were "elysian," and the reader unaware "whether he [was] on Earth or in Paradise." If the story continued to be so captivating, Niles telt "sure it will be a success & no one will detect you in it." Indeed, when A A!odernA1ephistopheles appeared anonymously as part of the No Name Series in April 1877, Alcott's jour- nal entry reveals how the book was accepted by the public: " 'M. M.' appears and causes much guessing. It is praised and criticised, and I enjoy the fun, especially when friends say, 'I know ym1didn't write it, for you can't hide your peculiar style' " (p. 204). II> ! I Lo11isa,\lay Alcott's Sales 59 During the summer of 1877, Alcott remained in Concord to nurse her mother, who was rapidly declining in health. In August, she started a ne,v serial for Dodge's St. i"\'icltolas.and, according to her journal, by the next month she had finished the ne,v work, Undl'f rl1cLilacs. She had. she recorded, foreseen "a busy or a sick \vinter, and wanted to finish ,vhile I could, so keeping my promise and earning my S3,000." She noted that her brain was ''very lively and [the] pen flew. It always takes an exigency to spur me up and wring out a book. Never have time to go slowly and do my best" (p. 205). On 25 November 1877, Alcott's mother. the beloved "Marmee," died, her daughter Louisa at her bedside. Despite the tragic personal loss, Alcott continued to prepare her manuscript. the profits of which would go to support her family. To secure the British copyright, Sampson Low published U11dcrthe Lilacs in eleven monthly parts, each in a blue paper \Vrapper. beginning in October 1877. The novel was serialized in St. Nicholas from December 1877 through October 1878, and the Roberts Brothers· edition published in November 1878. This time Alcott had managed to avoid the squabble that had plagued E(ghr Cousins. In 1879, she agreed to write yet another serial for St. Nicholas, and on 21 August related her progress. or lack of it, to Dodge. Although Alcott had originally thought of doing a Revolutionary War tale, she did not believe such a story would go well with her readers because she had "casually asked many of my young folks, when they demand a new story, which they would like, one of that sort [war tale] or the old Eight Cousin style, & they all say the latter.'' She promised Dodge that she would "try to have it unlike the others if possible. But the dears will cling to the Little Women style" (p . .235). The talc. to be called Jack m,dJill, would be about a "village & the affairs of a party of children." With "many little romances going on among the Concord boys & girls,'' she felt that ''all sorts of queer things'' could be worked into the book and that she could dash it off in her old style. Alcott admit- ted, ''leisure is just what I have not got & never shall have I fear, when writing is to be done." Returning from the seashore in a refreshed mood, she began work onjack mid Jill, having "no plan.'' she wrote in her September journal, except that of "a boy, a girl & a sled, with an upset to start with.'' With that scene, she had an "idea of working in Concord young folks & thier [sic] doings." After two unproductive years Alcott was "going to try again,'' noting that it was "so easy to make money now & so pleasant to have it to give." Her task was to be a "chapter a day" and not even that if she was tired, adding: "No more 14 hours a day. Make haste slowly now" (p. 216).jack a11dJill started its run in St. I\'.irholasin December 1879 and con- cluded in October 1880, after which the Roberts Brothers' and Sampson Low's editions were published. In 188.2, Roberts re-issued two books Alcott had published with Aaron K. Loring-Moods and Prwerb Stories (1868). In August 1881, Niles negotiated the pur- chase of A1oodsfrom Loring, and on 30 August, he reported to Alcott that he had received the plates and that the "transaction is all settled." He also inquired if she wanted to buy back the plates to ProverbStories since they were "to be sold at Trade Sale." He would, he assured Alcott, buy them if they were "cheap enough," believ- ing the "plates & copyright will bring at least $ 100." On 5 September, however, he informed her that Loring now wanted "$150. for the plates and $150. for the copyright-or $300, for both." Agreeing that the plates and copyright would be worth that price, Niles offered to pay half the cost. Then when the book was 60 HARVARD LIBRARY BULLETIN published, it would cost her "copyright on 1300 copies" for reimbursement. A few days later, on 10 September 1881, Niles confirmed his purchase. He had, he told Alcott, "beat Aaron down-offered him $200 and he has finally accepted." The copyright was hers, Niles assured her, if she would "exempt 1000 copies" of the new book, which would amount to $100. With new stories added to the three in the volume, it would be suitable to reissue. When published in 1865, l\lloods was Alcott's first attempt at an adult novel. Loring, unfortunately, had insisted Alcott trim the length of the novel to suit his taste-not the author's. Now Alcott had a chance to restore the work. In January 1882, A1oods was published, with a new preface by Alcott, which recounted how the original book had been written over a period of time and how it had been mis- understood by the public. She claimed chat the book had been "so altered, to suit the caste and convenience of the publisher, that the original purpose of the story was lost sight of, and marriage appeared to be the theme instead of an attempt to show the mistakes of a moody nature, guided by impulse, not principle." Alcott explained that in the new edition some "chapters have been omitted, several of the original ones restored; and those that remain have been pruned of as much fine writing as could be done without destroying the youthful spirit of the little romance." Later that year, in the fall of 1882, Roberts Brothers reissued ProverbStories, without the new material as planned. Instead, Alcott added "The Baron's Gloves," written in 1868 for Fra11kLeslie's Chimney Corner, and several stories published in 1881 in various periodicals. Often ill during the 1880s, Alcott resorted again and again to using her old material when she found that writing new works put too much strain on her poor health. In fact, it was four years before she wrote another "new" book- the long-awaited continuation of the March family saga. On 15 August 1883, Alcott wrote Dodge about her idea for another collection of "old-time tales," to be called " 'Spinning-Wheel Stories.' "These would be con- nected "with a thread running through all from the wheel that enters the first one," which centered around a "Christmas party of children ... at an old farm-house," who "hunt up the wheel" and have grandmother spin the first story. Since the group would be "snow-bound, others [could] amuse the young folks each evening with more tales" (p. 271). The twelve stories began in the January 1884 St. Nicholas and ended the following January. The collection appeared in November 1884. In 1885, Alcott planned to record the tales she had been telling her niece, Louisa May Nieriker (nicknamed "Lulu"), for a new series similar to the Scrap-Bagvolumes. On 13 July, she wrote Niles, asking "if it is too late ... to collect some of the little tales I tell Lulu and ... call it 'Lulu's Library'?" She had "several tiny books writ- ten down" for her niece, and since she now could do "no great work,'' she felt she "might venture to copy these if it would do for a Christmas book for the younger set." As illness prevented her long-anticipated March family novel, Alcott sadly reported to her editor that "Old ladies come to this twaddle when they can do noth- ing else" (p. 290). By autumn 1885, she prepared the first volume ofL11lu's Library; two more volumes would follow in the next few years. The first, entitled A Christmas Dream, came out in December 1885. In the preface, Alcott wrote: "All but three of these stories were told to my little niece during our quiet hour before bedtime .... Having nothing else to offer this year, I have collected them in one volume as a Christmas gift to my boys and girls from their old friend AUNT JO." Of the twelve short stories, four had been previously published in St. Nicholas and Harper's Young People. Two ------ Louisa ,\1ay Alcott's Sales 61 A GIFT BOOK FOR THE FAMILY. LITTLE WOMEN. f LLOSTRATED. This, the most famous d all the famous books by Mis.. ALCOTT, is DOW presented in ao illustrated edition, with NearlyTwo Hundred Cha.raoter- istfoDesigns, drawn and engraved expressly for this work. It is safe to say that there are not many homes which have not been m_ade happier through the healthy ioHueoce of this cele- Advertisemetll for lhe //lustrated brated book, which dLn now Edition ,f Little Women. from be bad in a fit dress fOI' the front of Comic Tragedies (1893). centre table of the domestic fireside. One llandsmne i#Ull/ ,,_. volu,,u, l,o,i,ui ,-,. &lolA,fZ!it4 -- blmialk B.OBER'mBRO'l'BlB8, P"'1/uAers.8-- years later, she prepared volume two of Lu/11's Library, again including old material- perhaps the oldest in her career-from her first book FlowerFables (1854). The new edition contained eleven stories, adding six new tales while deleting four from the original; it was published as The Frost King in October 1887. When Flower Fables Was first published, Alcott had dedicated the book to Ellen Emerson, the younger daughter of Ralph Waldo Emerson, to whom Alcott had originally told the fairy tales; she again dedicated The FrostKing and its fairy tales to Ellen, "one of the good fairies who still remain to us, beloved of poets, little children, and many grateful hearts." The third and final volume, Recollections,of which only two were new sto- ries, was not published until October 1889, a year and a half after Alcott's death. Poor health consumed Alcott's energy. Like the Scrap-Bag series, L11lu's Library allowed the author to reprint her work and keep her readers interested as she could 62 HARVARD LID RARY BULLETIN no longer write for extended periods of time. In fact, her last great book. the final volume in the March family trilogy, had been in progress since the early 1880s, bur illness repeatedly thwarted her attempts to complete it. Her December 1882 journal indicated chat she had started the final March family novel.Jo's Boys, ;is J serial for St. Nicholas (it was never serialized due to Niles's desire to publish it only in book form). Despite Alcott's chronic illness. Niles kept requesting the book. even wanting to place advertisements for it long before it was completed. On 27 March 1886, Alcott noted in her diary that she had had another attack of vertigo while writing the book: ''Head worked like a steam engine & would not stop.'' By no\v she had planned Jo's Boys in its entirety, and she "longed to get up & write it." After telling her doctor that "he had better let me get the ideas out,'' so she could relax, Alcott was surprised when he "very wisely agreed." " 'As soon as you can write half ;in hour a day & see if it does you good. Rebellious brains must be attended to or trouble comes.' " She had begun "as soon as able" and discovered chat her "head felt better very soon, & with much care about not over doing I had some pleas;int hours when I forgot my body & lived in my mind" (pp. 272-73). Alcott continued to work on Jo's Boys. and by the middle of June 1886, she was making good progress. A delighted Niles wrote to her on 19 June that her "news is almost too good to be true-'15 chapters of Jos Boys done.'" Niles requested "some of the opening chapters'' so he could start setting the type. "A few pages in print," would allow him "to make up a dummy for a sample" so his agent could "start with it in July, a happy man, on his western trip for orders.'' According to Niles, if Alcott would "say 'go ahead,' " Roberts Brothers would start "at once." To plan for the printing, Niles needed to know "the quantity or number of words" Jo's Boys would have in it: would it contain ''as much matter as 'Little Men'[,) 21 chapters, 376 pages, 117000 words, or 'Under the Lilacs,' 24 chapters, 305 pages, 95000 words?'' He hoped it would be "the largest." He also inquired about illus- trations for the novel, noting that it "would be a nice idea to have an ideal picture of Each boy, but I am afraid we could not accomplish it satisfactorily." He believed it "better [to] have 4 full page pictures-good ones-designed by [Frank] Merrill." Alcott herself could "designate the scenes," as long as they were "spread about equal distances" throughout the book, ;ilong with a frontispiece of her. Alcott responded later that month to Niles's questions, and further encouraged him by her progress, saying she hoped to finish it by 1 July. However. her "doctor frowns on that hope, and is so sure it will do mischief to get up the steam that I am afraid to try, and keep Prudence sitting on the valve lest the old engine run away and have another smash-up." She w;is not sure that she could stretch the book out, as Niles had hoped, adding that since they were "pressed for time" they should "not try to do too much." She felt sure the book would be finished "early in July,'' but noted that "things are so contrary with me I can never be sure of carrying out a plan.'' She did feel she could "without harm, finish off these dreadful boys," but was unsure about Niles's suggestions for pictures, feeling the novel was "not a child's book, as the lads are nearly all over twenty, and pretty pictures are not needed." When she arrived in Concord in a few weeks, she felt she could "touch up proofs and confrr about the book." She closed by asking, ''Sha'n't we be g!Jd when it is done?" (pp. 298-99). Niles answered Alcott's letter on 21 June with praise for the two chapters he had seen, saying that they were "already in the printer's hands" and he would "be ready to give you proof before you reach Concord." Niles declared the two opening Louisa .\fay Alcott's Sales 63 LOUISAM. ALCOTT'SSTORY BOOKS, FROM "SPINNING-WHEEL STORIES." THE SPINNING-WHEEL SERIES: SILVER PITCHERS, and Other Stories. PROVERB STORIES. The piihlis/1.-r tried t,, 11wrk,-1 .4./cllfl hooks i11,1,?rtn1p_,,,1({(lrdin,~ to t/11sad,,crrism1nrrjro111 the p11h- SPINNING-WHEEL STORIES. hs/1cr'.1rat,i/r~~ ,11the fl1d ,,f.-'..lcotti Life, Letters, and Journals A GARLAND FOR GIRLS, and Other Stories. (1/!9()) 4 volumes. Cloth.- Price, J1.25 each. ROBERTS BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, BOSTOl'l. chapters to be "in the same happy vein as of old," and assured her there was no need to hurry, since he now had enough to put "the 'copy' in type," and would then "duplicate to the required size of the book." Her publisher felt she should not be "worried at all about the completion of the mss. Do it as the spirit moves & so 'con amore' "(21 June). Alcott's journal indicated the work was completed in July. She noted that 50,000 copies made up the first edition, and more orders were arriving. Alcott herself did not feel the book was well written because there had been ''too great intervals between the parts as it was begun long ago." However, she felt the "children [would] be happy and my promise kept." Niles had requested two more chapters and Alcott wrote them; then "gladly corked [her] inkstand" (p. 277). 64 HARVARD LIBRARY BULLETIN Despite the joy of having finished, a new future work seemed inevitable and finan- cial need pressing. "What next? Mrs. Dodge wants a serial & T. N. a novel. I have a dozen plots in my head but think the serial better come first .... Every poor soul I ever knew comes for help & expenses increase. I am the only money maker & must turn the mill for others though my own grist is ground & in the barn" (p. 277). Jo's Boys, and How They Turned Out; A Sequel to "Little A1en" apppeared before the public in October 1886. Dedicated to Alcott's physician, Dr. Conrad Wesselhoeft, the book contained a bas-relief of Alcott as the frontispiece, which Walton Ricket- son had done earlier that autumn. Alcott apologized in the novel's preface for the book's unevenness: "Having been written at long intervals during the past seven years, this story is more faulty than any of its imperfect predecessors," but "the desire to atone for an unavoidable disappointment, and to please my patient little friends, has urged me to let it go without further delay." Noting the "seeming neglect of AMY," Alcott wrote "that, since the original of that character died, it has been impossible for me to write of her as when she was here to suggest, criticise, and laugh over her namesake. The same excuse applies to MARMEE," though the "folded leaves are not blank to those who knew and loved them, and can find memorials of them in whatever is cheerful, true, or helpful in these pages." Again in poor health in 1887, Alcott worked on short stories for St. Nicholas with hopes of making a new volume. No longer able to do what she was once capable of, she sadly confessed to Dodge on 9 January: "Such 'Works of Shakespeare' as I'd produce if I could only get a fresh thinking machine." 12 Although Alcott had plans for a long work entitled "Tragedy of To-day," poor health prevented its progress. In the spring of 1887, she informed Niles that her doctor "forbids me to begin a long book or anything that will need much thought this summer. ... I can give you a girls' book however, and I think that will be better than a novel." She had, she told him, promised some of the stories to St. Nicholas but assured him that "nearly all new ones would make a book go well in the holiday season .... 'A Garland for Girls' might do for a title perhaps, as they are all for girls." Niles had had his hopes set on a new novel with plans to publish a uniform set of her works, but Alcott wanted to focus on tales, knowing she could not produce a longer work at the moment. "Wait," she continued, "till I can do a novel, and then get out the set in style, if Alcott is not forgotten by that time" (p. 305). A Carland for Girls, appearing in December 1887, was the last book Roberts Brothers published during her lifetime. Of the seven selections in the volume, only two appeared in St. Nicholas. (In the early 1900s, after Little, Brown and Company bought Roberts Brothers, they reissued all but one of the stories as individual volumes.) It is interesting to note that when Alcott first signed with Roberts Brothers she had promised to write a "girl's book"; twenty years later, she completed the cycle. Other books followed posthumously. The third volume of Lulu's Library (mostly reprinted stories) appeared in 1889. The same year, Roberts Brothers issued, under Alcott's own name, A Modern Mephistopheles and A Whisper in the Dark, the latter a lurid tale written for Frank Leslie in 1863 and included here as an example of Jo March's blood-and-thunder tales. In 1893, Roberts Brothers, with the help of Anna Alcott Pratt (" Meg" in Little Women), published some of the Alcott girls' dramas, performed at home as teenagers, under the title Comic Tragedies Written by "Jo" and "Meg" and Acted by the "Little Women." 12 Louis, May Alcott to Mary Mapes Dodge, 9 January [1887], Wilkinson Collection of Mary Mapes Dodge. Princeton University Library; used with permission. ~------ Louisa May Alcott's Sales 65 The year 1888 brought little hope for Alcott: her father, Bronson, was failing, and Louisa's health was not good either. On 1 March 1888, Alcott drove from Rox- bury to Boston to see her father for the last time; three days later, on 4 March, Bronson Alcott died. Louisa was unaware of his death; when she returned to Rox- bury, she experienced headaches and pain, and quickly became unconscious. Two days after her father's death, in the early morning, Louisa May Alcott died. On 9 March, a mourning Thomas Niles sent her nephew John S. Pratt Alcott condo- lences, telling him that he was "indeed very sorry of the sad occasion which caused you to write me." When he had "first heard" that Alcott was dying, he had "believed the report to be an exaggeration & thought the shock of your grandfather's death, altho expected, had, when it finally came, been too much for her in her reduced condition .... I did not know how seriously ill she was on Sunday before I left because if I had known it I most certainly should have remained at home." Not only was Alcott's death "a great loss to you and Fred [Frederick Pratt, John's brother]," but she would also "be missed and mourned by countless thousands." One of the most important juvenile writers in nineteenth-century American litera- ture, at the time of her death, Louisa May Alcott had published over three hundred works in various periodicals and over two dozen books. She had progressed from fairy tales and lurid stories to timeless novels of domestic life. By 194 7, sales of Little Women alone exceeded over two million copies. 13 Without question, Thomas Niles played a critical role in her literary career. He was the person to whom she turned for professional advice regarding her business and literary interests. His sincerity, honesty, and frankness guided her through her most productive years. Little Women'ssuccess forced her into a particular style; and to meet the demands of readers who clamored for similar novels, Alcott churned out book after book, abandoning the literary experimentation of her earlier years. Her desire to write more adult novels had been pushed aside to accommodate her readers. Ill health also influenced her; the Little Womengenre required less time and work from her overstrained body and nerves. Despite the drawbacks of fame, Alcott found, as her father Bronson predicted, an enduring "place in the estimation of society." 14 " Frank Luther Mott. Gt>ld,·,,,\../11/timde.<: The Story of Be. Appendix he professional relationship between Louisa May Alcott and Roberts Brothers can be T augmented by the information in the extant costbooks and other records of the firm, which provide an accurate chronological record of the number of copies printed under each title. 15 Unfortunately, most of the records ofRoberts Brothers have been lost, and we have but scanty information on how many copies were sold or given away, what the royalty arrangements were, and how much money was disbursed to Alcott. 16 Alcott kept detailed records ofher personal and professional lives in a number of places, including her journals, an annual summary of the year's events called "Notes and Memoranda," her personal account books, and a separate listing of her accounts with Roberts Brothers. 17 Yet all are, in some way, incomplete: her "Notes and Memoranda" has entries concerning Roberts Brothers between 1868 and 1879, and in 1883; the journal provides information for 1880 and 1882, and from 1884 through 1886; the list of her accounts with Roberts Brothers seems to be complete from 1868 through 1884, but is only partially filled out for 1885 and 1886. There are no sources for 1887 and early 1888; we assume that con- tinued and worsening ill health forced Alcott to turn over her records to someone else in the last two years of her life. Even when there are entries in multiple sources for a single year, they differ, often widely, as the table below shows. 18 "l\Jotes awl A.aount List of aao1111ts H•ar Afrmoranda" foumal B.:/()ks ,rith Roi,nt. 1' For thl' sJke of convenience, \VC have Hsted ;dl printing and S-!762 from Low ($,'\30 in 1H71, S.140 in IR72, S89-l information hy 111011th J.nd yc:n only. not by the <.'xan cbtc in 1874, Sl650 in 1875, S260 in 1876, SJ48 in 1880, $)70 of the month. in 1881, $170 in 1882. and $400 in 188-1). It is uuclear 16 We have.· been Jhlc co loc.ltt' only two contracts an1ong: whcthl_·r her list of accounts with Roberts Brothc.·rs the Roberts !lrothers· records. One, dated JI May 187~ includes these sources of incon1c. (with a typescript copy at the University of Virginia. dated Akntt also noted the income from hrr hooks in s,·parate I May 1875), states that Aleem would n•cc·ive 18( for each entries (tht' total a1nnunt without any brea.kdo\vn of copy sold of .--111Old-Fas/11·,,,,,,,J Girl. Lill/I' .\frn. H,,_,piMI sources) from 1874 to 1878: these arc dealt with in not"s Sk1'.Uht·sand C,mtp and Fire_..;idtSwrirs. I::iRhrC,msi,i_,_ <1nd to the tabk below. both parts or l.i11f,,n;,,,,,.,,_ Tht" other, dated 1 October 19 Alcott listed S611 Jin a separate place in her account books IHH4. guarantees her 12, per copy sold for An Old- as her income from books in 1874. This may or may not 1"tishiot1t'dTlurnk_,_'>!iPinx. From thl' cnstbooks, we discover include $136 she received from G. W. Carleton, S894 that sh,· receiwd 12c per copy sold for Sliatd-Strap.• and from Sampson Low, and Sj0l) for a magazine serial. 161/,~ p,·r copv sold for S,/,,a Pi1t!1crs.As discussed 111the 10 At a later date, Alcott cancelled "$775" m her "Nores text above, Alcott received (as ot- 14 March 1871)) 10";, and Memoranda," and inserted "$1456." royaltles on the retail rrices of Little lVi1111c'1and H11spit11' 11 Alcott listed$ n64 in a separate place in her account books .Sk,·rd,es;18, per copy sold on Little .\11'11(as otJune 1871); as her income from books in 1875. This may or may not and llk per copy sold on .l food.~ and Prol'('rb Stori,·s. include SJ2 she received from Carleton, l&1650 from 17 All are in the Alcott Collrctlon at the Houghton Library. Sampson Low, and S2200 for a magazine serial. Harvard University. and arc quoted with pt:rmission. 21 Alcott listed $6554 in a separate place in her account books Detailc·d descriptions of the first two are in T/1ej,,11mal., as her income from hooks in 1876. This may or may not ,f l,,,uiJtl .-\l,1y~-lhorr, pp. xiv-xv. include S 102 she received from a Canadian publisher, " The "Notes and Memoranda ...journal. and account books $260 from Sampson Low, and $160 from the Tauchnitz ,,di list separJtcly the incon1c fro1n the authorized CJna- firm. dian sail's ofhn hooks Jnd from copies sold hv her autho- 23 Alcott listc'd $7988 in a separate place in her account books rized l.lritish puhl1sha, SJrnpson Low. From Alcorr·s as her income from books in I 877 This may or may nol listin~s in thesl' three sources, ~he seems en have received include $20 she received from Carleton and $53 from A, S12'1 from C:JnJdim s,les ($102 in 1876 ;ind $27 in 1878) K. Loring, Lo11isa,Hay Alcott's Sales 67 ''~'\'Mes,111d .-'\(WWII Li'sr t~fl1fftllf~1ts ri'ar .\ lc111or,111d,1'' fo1m1t1l Books 11'ith R,1berts Bn,1/1n-s 1878 $1536 $ 1946 $ 1946 24 1879 $3050 $ 3300 $ 3300 1880 $1692 $ 3431 $ 3315 1881 $ 4822 s 4859 1882 $3757 $ 5725 25 s 7000 1883 $1950 $ 4761 $ 6623 1884 $4857 $ 7237 $ 7254 1885 $5948 $15,270 $ 5948 1886 $7591 $ 7591 When summing the entries chat overlap, we come up with very different figures: the "Notes and Memoranda," journal, and list of accounts with Roberts Brothers all have entries for 1868-1880 and 1882-1886, but the first two total $68,988, the latter one $98,516; the "Notes and Memoranda," journal, account books, and list of accounts with Roberts Brothers all have entries for 1868-1869, 187 4-1880, and 1882- 1886, with the first two totaling $50,640, the account books $63,484, and the latter one $64,274. There are many possible reasons for the anomalies in these figures. Alcott's personal records of her royalty receipts were probably haphazard, because a family friend, Samuel E. Sewall, took care of her money and invested it for her; his now-lost statements to Alcott were probably the records she relied upon the most. This may be why so many of the records are obviously incomplete ones; chose for 1882-1886 are clearly marked as being the sums from only one of the two reporting periods. Despite the disparities in the records, there is no evidence whatsoever that the statements sent by Roberts Brothers were in any way false or inaccurate. Another possible reason for discrepancies was that Alcott often took advances from Roberts, which she listed as income at the cime the monies were received. Roberts Brothers may have deducted these payments from the next royalty statement; thus, an advance in November of one year would appear in that year's list of monies received by Alcott. and would also appear silently as a deduction in the following year's January royalty statement by Roberts Brothers. Moreover, the costbooks show that Alcott's "copyright" (i.e., royalty) was posted haphazardly upon the completion of printing, as the books were bound, or when the books were actually sold. Altogether, during the penod from 1868 to 1886 (including gaps in all but the list of accounts with Roberts Brothers), Alcott's income from Roberts Brothers was: according to her "Notes and Memoranda" and journal, $68,988; according to her account books, $64,086; and according to her list of accounts with Roberts Brothers, $103,375. 26 The lat- ter figure is probably the most accurate and represents quite a large sum of money for the times, most of which Alcott shrewdly invested in stocks. These sums represent only Alcott's income from Roberts Brothers, since monies from overseas editions, serials, and periodical contributions were paid directly to her. To put Alcott's income in perspective, we may note that Henry James earned a total of $58,503 from serial rights and book royalties from all sources (of which only $9,504 was due to American book sales) during the same 1868-1886 period, and that Herman Melville earned $10,444.33 from American and British book royalties during his lifeume.27 " Alcott listed $6669 in a separate place in her account books " In onlv a few instances did Alcott break her figures down as her income frmn books in l 87H_ This mav or mav not 1nto d~l1ars and cents; in such cases. we have rounded thcn1 include S27 she received from a Canadian publishc; and off to the nearest dollar. which seems to have been her $3000 from a magazine serial usual prJ.cticc. " Alcott listed $5425 in a separate place in her account books " Michael Anesko. 'Trict,,m with 1l1e.Hirkcl"' Hcnry_Jamc5 as her income from Roberts Brothes in 1882. This may and rite Pn~fi,S5h'n (fAuthor.;hip (Nc'\v York: ()xford Univcr- or may not include the approxim,telv $170 she received sitv Press. 1986). p. 176: G Thomas Tanselle, "The Sales from Sampson Low (her figure is in British pounds, which of Melville's Books."' Harvard Lihrary Bul/c11n, 18 (April we multiplied Jt the rough exchange rate of one pound 1969): 199. to five dollus). 68 HARVARD LIBRARY BULLETIN The sales figures for her books are equally impressive. 28 The tables below list the num- ber of books by Alcott printed each year by Roberts Brothers-including copies printed for authorized British and Canadian sales-from 1868 (the publication of the first part of Little Women) to 1898 (when Roberts Brothers was purchased by Little, Brown). 1868 ...... 4500 1878 ..... 16,354 1888 ..... 90,500 1869 .... 36,500 1879 ..... 18,284 1889 ..... 94,500 1870 .... 73,000 1880 ..... 29,420 1890 .... 110,500 1871 .... 87,000 1881 ..... 34,080 1891 ..... 92,500 1872 .... 27,500 1882 ..... 40,001 1892 .... 108,980 1873 .... 42,416 1883 ..... 40,050 1893 .... 102,000 1874 ...... 8170 1884 ..... 54,000 1894 ..... 63,000 1875 .... 27,000 1885 ..... 62,840 1895 ..... 79,000 1876 .... 33,388 1886 .... 103,500 1896 ..... 61,500 1877 .... 18,288 1887 ..... 89,000 1897 ..... 60,780 1898 ..... 18,000 Between 1868 and 1887, the last year in which Alcott would have received royalties dur- ing her lifetime, 29 Roberts Brothers printed 846,291 copies of Alcott's works; between her death in 1888 and the sale of the firm in 1898, an additional 881,260 copies were printed. In thirty-one years, Roberts Brothers printed 1,727,551 copies of books by Louisa May Alcott. The next group of tables provides a detailed breakdown of the printing histories of all of Alcott's books published by Roberts Brothers, arranged by month, year, and number of copies printed. 30 We have summarized the printing histories (number of separate print- ings and copies printed) for the periods from the books' publication through 1887 (when Alcott herself received the royalties), from 1888 through 1898 (when Roberts Brothers was purchased by Little, Brown), and from 1899 through 1909 (when Little, Brown pub- lished Alcott's works and the last period for which records are available). 31 21 For convenience, we arc using the figures for the number 30 Printings done for British or Canadian sale are discussed of copi,·s printed as equivalent to the number of copies 1n notes. sold. There were, of course, review and author's copies " This last period is summarized in a two-page typescript distributed without royalties being paid, but we have no cumulative record of the number of printings (here called information about their number. "Editions") and number of copies printed for each book "Royalties were payable in January and.July for the preced- from I 868 through I 909. This list, as with the ochers, is ing six months; therefore, Alcott's last royalty statement unclear at points. and we discuss such instances in notes in January 1888 would have included sales through the to the appropriate volumes below. end of 1887. She died on 6 March 1888. Louisa May Alcott's Sales 69 LITTLE WOMEN (1868-1869) Part One, Trade Edition 1868 July.. . . 1000 1876 September 2000 July. . . 2000 June...... 1000 November . . 1000 August ...... 2000 December ..... 1000 December. . 500 October ...... 2000 December ...... 500 December ..... 1000 1877 December ...... 5ooa November 1000 1871 1869 January ...... 1000 1878 February ...... 1000 March... 1000 July...... 1000 SUMMARY OF April ...... 1000 May.... 1000 PRINTING HISTORY May... 1000 June 1000 1879 June 1000 June.... 1000 March ...... 1000 Pmui,,g, Copi,, y...,. June. 1500 July ...... 1000 November 1000 Part~ July ...... 1000 August . . . . . 1000 Trade 67 67,000 1868-1882 August.... 1000 September 2000 1880 "Chc,ap edition" 2 1280 1873-1874 August 1000 December .. 1000 June ...... 500 "6 gt edition" 1 280 1876 September. . 1000 October . . . 500 Pm Two: October . 1000 1872 November . 1000 Trade 65 65,000 1869-1882 October . . . . . 1000 January ...... 1000 December . . . 1000 "Cheap edition" 2 1280 1873-1874 November . 1000 March ...... 1000 "6 gt edition" 1 280 1876 December ..... 1000 September. . . 1000 1881 December. . 1000 July.. . . 500 ~-Volu- Edition: December . . 1000 1873 September 500 Trade 29 53,050 1881-1887 30 158,000 1888-.1897 February ...... 1000 October ...... 500 21 215,866 1899--l 'Xl9b 1870 September. . . . 1000 December ...... 500 February ...... 1000 "Illu5tratcd" 7300 1880-1885< February. . 1000 1874 1882 "5 2760 1888-1897 4 87.116 I902-190'P March ...... 1000 April. . 1000 April...... 500 March.. . 1000 December ..... 1000 July...... 500 "Large Paper" 4 5175 1882 April. . . 1000 167 597,827 April ...... 1000 1875 May. 1000 June 1000 June.. 1000 December ..... I 000 Part Two, Trade Edition 1869 1870 May 1000 March. . ... 2000 February ...... I 000 June 1000 March. . .. 1000 February. . .. 1000 June ...... 1000 April ...... 1000 March ...... 1000 July ...... 1000 April.. . 1000 March. . . 1000 August . . 1000 April...... 1000 April...... 1000 September ..... l 000 6 It is unclear from the typescript list whether the May... 1000 April. 1000 September. . . 1000 figures for the total number of printings and June.. 1000 May . . . . 1000 December . . 1000 copies printed also include those that were part July. . . 1000 June.. 1000 of the two-volume edition. In computing our figures, we have assumed that It does, otherwise August . . . . 1000 July...... 1000 1872 the figures would indicate a reprinting virtually August . 1000 July. . .. 2000 January ..... 1000 every month. Further, we have chosen "'67'' (the September ..... 1000 August ...... 2000 March. 1000 larger number) as the figure co use in comput- October . . 1000 October . . . . 2000 September ..... 1000 ing the total number of printings for the two- October . . . . 1000 December ..... 1000 volume edition November 1000 1873 c Lirrle Women. illustrated by Frank T Merrill. was December . . . 1000 1871 February. ... 1000 first published in 1880. .. 1000 December ..... 1000 January ...... 1000 September d In the typescript list. this figure is broken down December ..... 1000 March ...... 1000 as follows: ten printings of the "Illus." edition for 11,830 copies (see note c); two printings of the "Spec(iall Illus." edition for 75.286 copies; and one printing of the "Spec[ial]. Old [lllus.f' edition for 10,060. We believe that the second one refers to Little Women with illustrations by Alice Barker Stephens (1902). and third one refers to Lirtle Women with illustrations by Frank • This figure includes 250 copies printed for sale in England by Sampson Low. T. Merrill (I 908). 70 HARVARD LIBRARY BULLETIN 1874 1877 October ...... 500 April.. . . 1000 November .... 1000 November . . . . 1000 December ..... 1000 December ..... 1000 1878 1875 July ...... 1000 1881 June 1000 July. . .. 500 December ..... 1000 1879 September ..... 500 July ...... 500 March. . . 1000 October ...... 500 November .... 1000 December ...... 500 1876 June . 1000 1880 1882 December . .... 1000 June ...... 500 April ...... 500 Parts One and Two, Cheap Editio11 1873 1874 April ...... 1000 April. . ... 280 Parts One and Two, "6 gr" Edition' 1876 May ...... 280 O11e-Vi,/ume, Trade Edition 1881 1887 1891 June 1000 March. . .. 2000 February ...... 2000 November. 1000 July...... 3000 April. . ... 5000 September .... 2000 May ..... 5000 1882 October ...... 3000 November . . . . 1000 January ...... 500 December ..... 2000 1892 1883 1888 February ...... 2000 April...... 1000 January ...... 2000 April ...... 15,000 June ...... 2000 March ...... 2000 December . . .. 5000 September ..... 1550 April ...... 6000 October ... 2000 September . . 5000 1893 December .. 1000 December. . .. 2000 April . . . 20,000 December . . .. 2000 1884 1894 February ...... 1000 1889 September .. 5000 April ...... 1000 March ...... 5000 November .... 3000 July ...... 3000 April...... 5000 September .... 2000 November .... 2000 1895 October ...... 2000 December . .... 2000 April_ ...... 20,000 December ..... 1000 1890 1896 1885 January . . . . . 1000 May ...... 6000 March ...... 1000 March . . . . . 1000 November .... 3000 May ...... 3000 March . . 10,000 September .... 2000 October ...... 5000 1897 November .... :WOO May. . 10,000 December . . . 2000 December ..... 3000 1886 1898 April ...... 2000 April...... 3000 July ...... 3000 September .... 2000 December .. 2000 December . . .. 2000 > We have been unable to determine to what the "6 gr" edition designation in the costbooks refers. .. Louisa ,\-fay A.lcott's Sales 71 Illustrated Edition 1880 1888 1894 November .... 3000 October ...... 1000 November . . . . 500 1881 1891 1897 December ..... 1300 May...... 500 November 280 1882 1892 November . . . . I 000 November ..... 480 1885 May ...... 2000 Large Paper Edition 1882 August. 1000 September ..... 1250 October ...... 1325 December ..... 1600 HOSPITAL SKETCHES AND CAMP AND FIRESIDE STORIES (1869) ------ Trade Editio11 SUMMARY OF 1869 1884 1890 PRINTING HISTORY July ...... 3000 March ...... 1000 March ...... 1000 June ...... 1000 November . . . . 1000 Prinll•t• o,p;,, y,_ 1870 Trade 15 13,000 1869-1886 February ...... 500' 1885 1891 11 l0,000 1888-1896 August ...... 500 January ...... 1000 July ...... 1000 11 6139 1899-1909 June.. 1000 "6 gr edition" 5 1420 1877-1881 1871 November . . . . 1000 1892 January. . . 500 April ...... 1000 "Large Paper" 4 3000 1881-1883 September . . . . 500 1886 46 33,559 July ...... 1000 1893 1872 July ... . 1000 July .. .. 500 1888 April ...... 1000 1894 1873 December ..... 1000 December ...... 500 April...... 500 1889 1895 1874 April ...... 1000 October ...... 500 November ..... 500 1896 1881 May ...... 1000 November ..... 500 "6 gr" Edition 1877 1879 1881 August ...... 280 October ...... 284 May ...... 280 1878 1880 July ...... 286 September ..... 282 ' This figure includes 250 copies printed for sale in England. 72 HARVARD LIBRARY BULLETIN Large Paper Edition 1881 1883 June ...... 500 October ...... 1000 October ...... 500 November .... 1000 AN Orn-FAsmoNED GmL (1870) Trade Edition SUMMARY Of PRlNTING HISTORY 1870 1878 1888 March ...... 5000 July ...... 1000 April...... 3000 Prlr ' An Old-Fashioned Girl, with illustrations by Jessie Wilcox Smith, was published in 1902. Louisa May Alcott's Sales 73 Cheap Edition 1873 1874 Apnl. . . . . 1000 April . .300 Large Paper Edition 1881 1882 1883 June 1000 August ...... 1000 January . . . . . 1000 November .. 1000 October . . . . . 1176 May ...... 1000 LITTLE MEN (1871) Trade Edition 1871 1881 1887 May ...... 10,000 April ...... 500 March ...... 1000 May ...... 5000 August ...... 500 May.... 1000 May ...... 5000 November ..... 500 July ...... 3000 June ...... 5000 December ...... 500 September .... 2000 SUMMARY Of June ...... 1000 October ...... 2000 PRINTJNG HISTORY June ...... 5000 1882 December ..... 1000 June ... 5000 April ...... 500 December ..... 1000 Pri,,tifw, (¥,, y...., June ...... 2000 October ...... 1170 Trade 6-4 101,670 1871-1887 July ...... 2000 1888 29 124.000 1888-1898 August ...... 3000 1883 March ...... 2000 16 167,345 1899-1909 November .... 1000 April ...... 1000 April ...... 4000 "Cheap edition" 2 1310 1873-1874 September. . . 1000 September .... 3000 1872 October . . . . 1000 November .. 2000 "Larse Paper" 6 6000 1881-1883 January ...... 1000 November .... l 000 December . . . l 000 March ...... 1000 December ..... 1000 "lllustmed" 9 10,462 1901-1909" September ..... 1000 1889 126 410,787 1884 January ...... 1000 1873 March. . . 1000 March ...... 5000 March. . 1000 June ...... 1000 August ...... 3000 October ...... l 000 August ...... 1000 November .... 2000 November .... 1000 September ..... 1000 December ..... 1000 October ...... 1000 1875 December ..... I 000 1890 August ...... 1000 January ...... 1000 December ..... 1000 1885 March ...... 1000 January ...... 1000 April ...... 10,000 1876 April ...... 1000 November .... 2000 December ..... l 000 June ...... 1000 September ..... 1000 1891 1877 October ...... 1000 March ...... 2000 December ..... 1000 November .... 1000 May ...... 10,000 December ..... 1000 November .... 3000 1878 October ...... 1000 1886 1892 March ...... 1000 April . . . 15,000 1879 April...... 1000 October ...... 1000 June ...... 2000 1893 August ...... 2000 April .... 15,000 1880 October ...... 2000 May ...... 1000 December ..... 1000 1894 November . . . . 1000 December ..... 1000 September .... 5000 December ..... 1000 November .... 2000 • Little Men. with illustrations by Reginald B. Birch. was published in 1901. 74 HARVARD LIBRARY BULLETIN 1895 1897 April 10,000 May.. . . 8000 November 3000 December ..... 2000 1896 1898 May... . 5000 May ...... 2000 October ...... 2000 December ..... 2000 Cheap Edition 1873 1874 April ...... 1000 April ...... 310 Large Paper Edition 1881 1882 1883 June. 1000 September ..... 1000 June ...... 1000 November 1000 December ..... 1000 November .. 1000 MY BOYS (1872) 1871 1882 1889 November ... 10,000 October 500 March ...... 1000 SUMMARY OF December ..... 5000 December ...... 500 PRINTING HISTORY 1883 1872 August ...... 500 1890 Prit1tings Copies Yt'11rs January ...... 2500 May ...... 1000 Trade 24 28,500 1871-1887 1884 November 1000 14 12,000 1888-1898 11 12,080 1899-1909 1873 March ...... 500 March. . 1000 October . . 500 1891 "lliust rared" 7 10,706 1899-1909 November .... 1000 56 63,286 1874 1885 April...... 500 August ...... 500 1892 October ...... 500 September ..... 1000 1875 March. . . 500 1886 1893 December ...... 500 September ..... 500 April...... 1000 1877 1887 1894 February ...... 500 July ...... 500 February ...... 1000 November ..... 500 October ...... 500 December ...... 500 1896 1879 March ...... 1000 February ...... 500 1888 December ..... 1000 November ..... 500 June ...... 500 August ...... 500 1898 1880 December. . .. 500 May..... 1000 November ..... 500 1881 September ..... 500 November ..... 500 Louisa May Alcott's Sales 75 SHAWL-STRAPS (1872) 1872 1883 1890 November ... 10,000 April...... 500 April ...... 1000 SUMMARY OF December ..... 2500 December ...... 500 November .... 1000 PRINTING HISTORY 1873 1884 1891 Printing, Oipi,, Ytars August. .. 500 October ...... 500 November . . . 1000 Trade 20 21,SOO 1872-1887 16 11,000 1888-1897 1875 1885 1892 8 7581 1899- 1909 January ...... 500 August...... 500 November ..... 500 44 40,081 December ...... 500 October ...... 500 December . . . . 500 1877 1886 1893 February ...... 500 August ...... 500 November ..... 500 1878 1887 1894 July ...... 500 June ..... 500 August ...... 500 November ..... 500 1879 1895 August ...... 500 1888 March...... 500 March...... 500 September ..... 500 1880 August ...... 500 July. . . . . 500 November ..... 500 1896 December ...... 500 May ...... 1000 1889 1881 March..... 1000 1897 October ...... 500 October ...... 500 September ..... 1000 1882 September . . . 500 WORK. A STORY OF EXPERIENCE (1873) 1873 1883 1891 June ...... 10,000 July ...... 500 July ...... 1000 SUMMARY OF June ...... _ .. 5000 PRINTING HISTORY June .... __ ... 3500 1884 1892 August ...... 1500 April .. . . 500 March ...... 1000 Printutt• Cqpi,, y,.,, November ..... 500 Trade 19 28,000 1873-1887 1874 1885 17 11,500 1888-1897 January ...... 1000 May ...... 500 1893 5 -4522 1899-19()9 September ..... 500 41 «,022 1875 1886 December ...... 500 January ...... 500 February...... 500 December ...... 500 October . .... 500 1894 September ..... 500 1877 1887 March ...... 500 March ...... 500 1895 November ..... 500 January . . . 500 1878 October ...... 500 December ...... 500 1888 May ...... 1000 1896 1880 October ...... 500 September ..... 500 April.. . 500 1889 1897 1881 March ...... 1000 May...... 500 June ... 500 November ..... 500 December ...... 500 1882 1890 September ..... 500 March ...... 1000 November .... 1000 76 HARVARD LIBRARY BULLETIN CUPID AND CHOW-CHOW (1874) 1873 1886 1891 SUMMARY Of December ..... 5000 October ...... 500 November .... 1000 ~NTING HISTORY December ..... 2416 1887 1892 Pri,,ting, upi,, y..,. 1880 July ...... 500 November .... , 500 13 12.916 1873-1887 November ..... 500 December ...... 500 15 10,500 1888-1897 1893 8 7602 1899-1909 1881 1888 June ...... , 500 36 31.018 October ...... 500 June ...... 500 December ...... 500 September ..... 500 1882 December ...... 500 1894 September ..... 500 August ...... 500 1889 November ..... 500 1883 March ...... 1000 April ...... 500 1895 December ...... 500 1890 October ...... 500 May ...... 1000 1884 December ..... 1000 1896 October ...... 500 March ...... 1000 1885 1897 September ..... 500 September. .... 1000 October ...... 500 EIGHT COUSINS (1875) Trade Edition SUMMAllY OF .PluNTINc Hisron 1875 1883 1888 August ...... 5000 March ...... 1000 May ...... 3000 Copin y...,.. August ...... 5000 June ...... 1000 July ...... 2000 Tnde 39 51,500 187$-1887 October , .. , .. 5000 September , ... , 1000 November . , . , 2000 """"""27 76,000 1888-1898 December ..... 1000 October ...... 1000 December ..... 1000 19 , 89,012 1899-1909 October . , , .... 500 1876 1889 "Cb<:apedition" 230 1885 October ...... 1000 1884 April ...... 3000 "~p Paper" 4 4000 1881-1882 December ..... 1000 March ...... 1000 August ...... 2000 July ...... 1000 December ..... 1000 ~'lllU1aated:" s 5013 1904-1909" 1877 August ...... 1000 December ..... 1000 95 225,805 September ..... 500 October ...... 1000 November .... 1000 December ..... 1000 1890 March ..... , . , 1000 1878 1885 April...... 5000 October ...... 1000 April ...... 1000 September .... 2000 May ...... 1000 1879 September ..... 1000 1891 September ..... 1000 November . . . . 1000 January ..... , . 2000 May ...... 5000 1880 1886 December ..... 2000 April ...... 1000 March ...... 1000 December ..... 1000 June ...... 2000 1892 September ..... 1000 March ...... 8000 1881 November . . . . 1000 March ...... 2000 July ...... 500 December ..... 1000 November ..... 500 1893 December , .. , .. 500 1887 April ...... 8000 March ...... 1000 1882 July ...... 3000 1894 May ...... 500 November ... , 2000 May ...... 4000 • Eight Cousins, with illustrations by Harriet November ..... 500 November .... 2000 Roosevelt Richards, was published in 1904. Louisa May Alcott's Sales 77 1895 1897 April ...... 4000 June ...... 2000 November .... 3000 October ...... 2000 December ..... 2000 1896 May.. . .. 3000 1898 October ...... 2000 May ...... 2000 Cheap Edition 1885 October ...... 280 Large Paper Edition 1881 1882 June ...... 1000 September ..... 1000 November .... 1000 November .... 1000 SILVER PITCHERS AND INDEPENDENCE (1876) 1876 1883 1889 May ...... 2500 October ...... 500 April ...... 1000 SUMMARY OF June ...... 1000 PRINTING HISTORY June ...... 1000 1884 1890 July ...... 500 October . . . 500 May... 1000 P-rintlng, Yr..., August ...... 500 December ...... 500 October . . . 1000 Trade 23 1-4,500 1876-1837 August ...... 500 12 10,500 1838-18-97 August ...... 500 1885 1891 6 5708 1899-1909 October ...... 500 October ...... 500 November .... 1000 November ..... 500 "Illustrated" 1985 1908-1909" December ...... 500 1886 1892 42 32,693 August ...... 500 October. 1000 1877 December ...... 500 November ..... 500 1893 1887 November .... 1000 1879 July ...... 500 February ...... 500 December ...... 500 1894 December ...... 500 November .... 1000 1888 1880 June ...... 500 1895 November ..... 500 October ...... 500 December ..... 1000 December ...... 500 1882 1897 May ...... 500 November .... 1000 • Silver Pit ROSE IN BLOOM (1876) Trade Edition 1876 1885 1891 November ... 10,000 January ...... 1000 Apnl.. . . 5000 December ..... 2500 May.. . . 1000 December ..... 2000 December ..... 2500 August ...... 1000 December ..... 1828 October . . . . . 1000 1892 December ..... 1000 March ...... 6000 1877 October ...... 2000 December ..... 1000 1886 December ..... 2000 April ...... 1000 1878 July ...... 2000 1893 November .... 1000 October ...... 1000 April ...... 8000 December ..... 1000 1879 December ..... 1000 1894 April. . .. 1000 May ...... 3000 SUMMARY Of 1887 November .... 2000 PRINTING HISTORY 1880 July ...... 3000 April. .... 1000 October ...... 2000 1895 Pri"1ifft, c.i,; .. y,.,,., November . . . 1000 December ..... 2000 April...... 4000 Tra& 33 48,328 1876-1887 December ..... 2000 24 67,000 1888-1898 1881 1888 17 76,281 1899-1909 August ...... 500 April...... 3000 1896 "Cheap edicioa" 280 1885 November ..... 500 November .... 2000 May ...... 2000 October ...... 2000 "Large Paper" 6 6000 1881-1883 1882 1889 February ...... 500 April ...... 3000 1897 "Illustrated" 4090 1904-1909' - 4 June . . . .. 500 August ...... 2000 June ...... 2000 85 201,979 December ..... 1000 November .... 2000 1883 December ..... 1000 June ...... 1000 1898 September ..... 1000 1890 May ...... 2000 October ...... 500 April ...... 5000 October ...... 2000 1884 December ..... 2000 March. . . 1000 July ...... 1000 September ..... 1000 October ...... 1000 a Rose in Bloom, with illustrations by Harriet Roosevelt Richards, was published in 1904. Louisa May Alcott's Sales 79 A MODERN MEPHISTOPHELES (1877) Trade Edition SUMMARY OF 1877 PRINTING HrsTORY Apnl ...... 3000" July...... 500 Print.-ngs ea,,;,, YrRN Tnde 2 3500 1877 "6 gr edition " 2 560 1880-1885 ''6 cl?r"Editi,m Trade 6 5000 1889-1896 2 1027 1899-1909 1880 1885 12 10,087 November ..... 280 May...... 280 A Modern Mephistophelesand A Whisper in the Dark (1889) 1889 1892 1896 March...... 2000 October . 500 October ...... 500 March. . . 1000 1893 1891 September . .. 500 July. . . 500 MY GIRLS (1878) 1877 1885 1891 November .... 2500 September .. . . 500 November . 1000 SUMMARY OF November .... 2000 December. .500 PRINTING HISTORY December ..... 1000 1892 1886 September ..... 1000 p,,_-ritfng1 G,pin Yf'ar.s 1879 October ...... 500 Trade 17 12,500 1877-1887 November. ... 500 1893 15 12,500 1888-1897 1887 April ...... 1000 II 10,992 1899-1909 1880 July ..... 500 "Illustrated" 7 J0,009 1899-1909 August .. .. 500 October .. . . 500 1894 November .. 500 May.... 1000 50 46,001 1888 1881 March ...... 500 1895 October ...... 500 August ...... 500 February . . ... 1000 November .. .. 500 1882 1896 September 500 1889 March ...... 1000 December ... 500 March...... 1000 December ...... 500 1897 1883 September. . .. 1000 August .. 500 1890 March ...... 500 1884 May. 1000 August ...... 500 November ... 1000 November ..... 500 • This figure includes an unknown number of copies printed for sale in England. 80 HARVARD LIBRARY BULLETIN UNDER THE LILACS (1878) Trade Edition 1878 1885 1891 September .... 5000 May ...... 1000 January ...... 2000 October ...... 1550 August ...... 1000 April...... 5000 November ...... 5t8b October ...... 1000 December ..... 2000 December ..... 1000 December ..... 1000 December ..... 1000 1892 1886 April...... 8000 1879 June ...... 2000 December ..... 2000 November . . . . 1000 October ...... 1000 December ..... 1000 1893 1880 April. . .. 8000 SUMMARY OF October ...... 1000 1887 PRINTING HISTORY January ...... 1000 1894 1881 July ...... 3000 September .... 2000 Printing, C,,pi Large Paper Edition 1881 1882 July ...... 1000 September ..... 1200 November .... 1000 November .... 1040 • Underthe Lilacs,with illustrations by Alice Barker Stephens, was published in I 905. 6 This figure represents the copies printed for sale in Canada. Louisa May Alcott's Sales 81 JIMMY'S CRUISE IN THE PINAFORE (1879) 1879 1886 1892 September .... 2500 October ...... 500 September ..... 1000 SUMMARY OF October ...... 1000 PRINTING HISTORY November ..... 500 1887 1893 December. 1000 July. . . 500 September ..... 500 Pn"ntings Copm Ytan November ..... 500 Trade 14 10,000 1879-1887 1881 1894 14 10,500 1888-1897 August ...... 500 1888 August ...... 500 17 8105 1899-1909 May.. . . 500 November ..... 500 45 28,605 1882 September ..... 500 September ..... 500 December ...... 500 1895 August...... 500 1883 1889 April ...... 500 ---···· 1000 1896 December ...... 500 March. . ... 1000 1890 1884 May ...... 1000 1897 October ...... 500 November .... 1000 September ..... 1000 1885 1891 September ..... 500 November .... 1000 October ...... 500 JACK AND JILL: A VILLAGE STORY (1880) Trade Edition SUMMARY Of 1880 1887 1892 PRlNTlNG HISTORY August ...... 5000 May ...... 1000 April. .6000 October ...... 858 July ...... 3000 Printing., Cepin Y«m November . . . 2000 1893 Trade 18 25,358 1880-1887 1888 May ...... 6000 22 57,000 1888-1898 1881 January ...... 1000 13 64,054 1899-1909 November ..... 500 April ...... 3000 1894 "Large Paper" 4 4240 1881-1882 November .... 2000 April... . . 4000 1883 November .... 2000 "Illustrated" 3 3485 1905-1909' June 1000 1889 60 154,137 September ..... 1000 April ...... 3000 1895 October . . . . 1000 October ...... 2000 May ..... 3000 December ..... 1000 November .... 2000 1884 July ...... 1000 1890 1896 October ...... 1000 April...... 5000 May..... 1000 November .... 1000 October . . 2000 November .... 2000 1885 1891 1897 May ...... 1000 May ...... 5000 June . . . . . 1000 September ..... 1000 December ..... 2000 October ...... 1000 December ..... 1000 December . . 2000 1886 1898 June.. . .. 2000 May .. 1000 August . 1000 December ..... 1000 Large Paper Edition 1881 1882 June ...... 1000 September. . . . 1200 • Jack and Jill, with illustrations by Harriet November .... 1000 November .... 1040 Roosevelt Richards. was published in 1905. . ------ 82 HARVARD LIBRARY BULLETIN Mooos (1882) 1882 1888 1892 SUMMARY OF January. . ... 3000 September ..... 500 January ...... 1000 PRINTING HISTORY December ...... 500 1884 1894 Priming, Copi,s Y,m October ...... 500 1889 April ...... 1000 Trade 6 5500 1882-1887 March ...... 1000 12 9000 1888-1897 1885 December ...... 500 1895 4 2520 1899-1909 October ...... 500 November . . . . 1000 22 17,020 1890 1886 October ...... 500 1897 October ...... 500 October ...... 500 October ...... 500 1887 1891 September ..... 500 May 1000 December ...... 500 December ..... 1000 PROVERB STORIES (1882) 1882 1887 1891 June ...... 2000 August ...... 500 December ..... 1000 September ..... 1000b November ..... 500 SUMMARY OF December ...... 500 1893 PRINTING HISTORY 1888 May 1000 1884 July...... 500 Pri,,tings Copir.s Yran August ...... 500 November ..... 500 1894 Trade 9 6500 1882-1887 December . . . .. 500 October ...... 1000 9 8000 1888-1896 6 4519 1899-1909 1889 1885 April ...... 1000 1896 "-Illustrated" 2003 1908-1909" October ...... 500 May ...... 1000 25 21,022 1890 1886 April ...... 1000 October ...... 500 November . . . . 1000 • Prwerb Stories, with illustrations by Ethel Penncwill Brown, was published in 1908. b This figure represents the copies primed for sale in England. Louisa May Alcott's Sales 83 AN OLD-FASHIONED ThANKSGIVJNG (1882) SUMMARY OF 1882 1887 1892 PRINTING HISTORY June ...... 2500 January . . 500 March ...... 1000 September ..... 1000• November . 500 December ..... 1000 Prinrir,gs Copie, Y,on October ...... 1000 Trade 10 8000 1882-1887 14 11.500 1888-1897 1888 1893 12 10,105 1899-1909 1883 March ...... 500 December ..... 1000 December ...... 500 August...... 500 36 29,605 October ...... 500 1894 1884 December ..... 1000 October ...... 500 1889 March ...... 1000 1896 1885 December ...... 500 March ...... 1000 July ...... 500 December ...... 500 October ...... 500 1897 1890 September ..... 1000 1886 April ...... 1000 August ...... 500 November .... 1000 SPINNING-WHEEL STORIES (1884) SUMMARY OF 1884 1890 1894 PllINTING HISTORY August ...... 3000b September ..... 1000 March ...... 1000 October ...... 3000 December ..... 1000 December ..... 1000 Pmttints Copia y,..,, December ..... 2000 Trade 3 8000 1884 1891 1896 12 11,000 1888-1897 1888 December ..... 1000 May ...... 1000 7 6526 1899-1909 March ...... 1000 "IUustrated" 4 7991 1908-1909< November ..... 500 1892 1897 26 33,517 November . . . . 1000 November . . . . 1000 1889 April ...... 1000 December ...... 500 ThE ALCOTT CALENDAR FOR 1886 (1885) SUMMARY OF 1885 · PRINTING HISTORY October ...... 2000 November .... 2000 PriNtings Copi,, Yton Trade 2 4000 1885 2 4000 'This figure represents the copies printed for sale in England. c SpirrninR•Wheel Storie,, with illustrations by b A notation in the costbooks states that a duplicate set of plates was made for Sampson Low. William A. McCullough, was published in 1908. 84 HARVARD LIBRARY BULLETIN A CHRISTMAS DREAM (1886) SUMMARY OF PRINTING HISTORY 1885 1891 1894 November .... 5000 July ...... 1000 November ..... 500 Pn"nrinv Copies Yr4TS December ..... 2000 Trade 2 7000 1885 1892 1895 9 5500 1889-1896 1889 November ..... 500 IO 5098 1899-1909 September ..... 500 August ...... 500 21 17,598 December ...... 500 1893 1896 September ..... 500 October ...... 500 1890 July ...... 1000 Jo's BoYS, AND How ThEY ThRNED Om (1886) SUMMARY OF PRINTING HISTORY 1886 1889 1894 July . . . . 10,000b March ...... 4000 April ...... 4000 p,.,-,,1Jngs Cop,,, y,.,,, August ...... 10,000 September .... 2000 December ..... 2000 Trade 12 57,500 1886-1887 August ...... 10,000 December ..... 2000 23 75,000 1888-1898 October ...... 5000 1895 14 83,876 1899-1909 December ..... 5000 1890 May ...... 4000 "Illustrated" 5 5063 1903-1909' December. . . . 2500 April ...... 6000 November .... 2000 December ..... 2500 October ...... 2000 54 221,439 December ..... 2500 December ..... 2000 1896 April...... 5000 1887 1891 November .... 2000 July ...... 3000 April ...... 6000 August ...... 2000 December ..... 2000 1897 October ...... 3000 June ...... 2000 December ..... 2000 1892 October ...... 1000 April ...... 8000 December . . . 1000 1888 November .... 2000 April...... 4000 1898 November .... 2000 1893 Apnl... . 2000 May .... 8000 ThE FROST KING (1887) SUMMARY OF PRINTING HISTORY 1887 1892 1896 August ...... 2500 May ...... 500 March ...... 500 Printings Copies Ytan November .... 2000 Tr11de 2 4500 1887 1893 1897 8 4500 1890-1897 1890 March ...... 500 November ..... 500 9 5077 1899-1909 June ...... 1000 December ...... 500 19 14,077 1891 1895 July ...... 500 August. . .. 500 • Jo's Brtys, and How They Turned Out, with illus- trations by Ethel Wetherald Ahrens, was pub- 6 A notation in the costbooks states that a duplicate set of plates was made and sold to Low at 2s. lished in 1903. per page for sale in England. Louisa May Alcott's Sales 85 A GARLAND FOR GIRLS (1888) SUMMARY OF 1887 1890 1893 PRINTING HISTORY October ...... 3000' April ...... 1000 May ...... 1000 Pn'1Ui11gs G,pirs y,.,,. November .... 2000 October ...... 1000 December ..... l 000 1894 Trade 4 8000 1887 12 12.000 1888-1897 December ..... 2000 1891 September. .... 1000 8 6243 1899-1909 October ...... 1000 1888 1895 "Illustraccd" 1 1969 1908-1909' May ...... 1000 1892 September ..... 1000 -25 28,212 October ...... 1000 July ...... 1000 December ..... l 000 1897 September ..... 1000 1889 April ...... l 000 RECOLLECTIONS (1889) SUMMARY OF 1889 1892 1895 PRINTING HISTORY July ...... 2500b October ...... 1000 December ...... 500 December ..... 1000 />riffling, Gopin y....,, 1894 1897 Trade 7 7000 1889-1897 1890 September ..... 500 September ..... 500 8 4402 1899-l 909 November .... 1000 15 11,402 COMIC ThAGEDIES (1893) SUMMARY OF 1893 1896 PRINTING HISTORY June ...... 5000 October ...... 500 December ..... 1000 Primings Copits Yt,m Trade 3 6500 1893-1896 6 3039 1899-1909 9 9539 • A notation in the casebooks states chat a duplicate set of plates was made and sold to Blackie for £30 for sale in England. with £10 going to Alcott. b A notation in the casebooks states chat a duplicate set of plates was made and sold to Low at 2s. c A Garlandfor Girls, with illustrations by Clara per page for sale in England. E. Atwood and others, was published in 1908. 86 HARVARD LIBRARY BULLETIN Our final table lists, in order of number of copies printed, the total number of all printings and copies printed for each title in all of its formats, including those works published posthumously through 1909. 32 Tide Printings Copies printed Little Women 167 597,827 Little Men 126 410,787 An Old-Fashioned Girl 123 304,653 E(~ht Cousins 95 225,805 Jo's Boys 54 221,439 Rose in Bloom 85 201,979 Under the Lilacs 72 180,687 Jack and Jill 60 154,137 My Boys 56 63,286 Cheney, Louisa May Alrott (1889) 29 46,075 My Girls 50 46,001 Work 41 44,022 Shawl-Straps 44 40,081 Hospital Sketches and Camp and Fireside Stories 46 33,559 Spinnin.~-Wheel Stories 26 33,517 Silver Pitchers 42 32,693 Cupid and Chow-Chow 36 31,018 An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving 36 29,605 Jimmy's Cruise in the Pinafore 45 28,605 A Garland for Girls 25 28,212 A Hole in the Wall (1899) 10 21,054 Proverb Stories 25 21,022 Marjorie's Three Gifts (1899) 11 20,526 A Christmas Dream 21 17,598 .~1oods 22 17,020 May Flowers (1899) 8 15,490 The Frost King 19 14,077 Candy Country (1900) 7 14,041 Poppies and Wheat (1900) 7 13,014 A Christmas Dream (1900) 7 11,989 Recollections 15 11,402 A Modern Mephistopheles 12 10.087 Little Button Rose (1901) 6 10,otl The Louisa 1'vfay Alcott Reader (1908) 3 10,009 Comic Tragedies 9 9,539 The Doll's ]01m1ey (1902) 5 7,995 Pansies and Water-Lilies (1902) 4 7,924 lvforning-Clones and Queen A.ster ( 1904) 3 5,027 Mountain-Laurel and Maidenhair (1903) 1 4,972 The "Little Women" Play (1900) · 5 4,503 The Alco/I Calendar for 1886 2 4,000 The "Little Men'' Play (1900) 3 2,610 3,007,898 12 Also included are items such as The Alcott C11/endarfi,r 1886, Many of the works published by Little. Brown represent Ednah Dow Cheney's Louisa .Hay Alcott: Her Life, Letters, reprintings of single or multiple works from Lulu's Uhrary andjournals, and dramatizations of Little Women and Lillie (The Louist1Mny Alcott Reader,A Hole in the Wall, Marjorie's Men done by Elizabeth Lincoln Gould and co-published Three Gifts, Candy Country, A ChristmasDream), A Garland with Curtis of Philadelphia. Although not strictly works for Girls (May Flowers,Poppies and Wheal, Little Butto11Rose, entirely by Alcott, they do indicate her popularity. Pansiesand Water-Lilies,Mountain-Laurel and l\faidenhai'r)or We are uncertain whether our estimate in the entry for An Old-FashionedThanks.~ivin,{I (The Doll'sjo11mey);Mvrning- Little Womenaccurately reflects the actual number of print- Glories and Queen Aster contains stories from An Old- ings and copies printed; see note b to Little W