All Aboard Series Daniel C. Eddy/ Edward A. Rand

The All Aboard Series published in the 1890's by Donohue, Henneberry and Company has a very complicated history. Initially in 1891 Donohue, Henneberry and Company published two All Aboard books written by Edward A. Rand. (not Edward H. Rand as noted in the ad below).

These books are:
All Aboard for the Lakes and Mountains
All Aboard for Sunrise Lands

The first editions of Rand's books were published by D. Lothrop and Company and subsequently were printed by a number of other companies prior to becoming the "All Aboard" series of Donohue Henneberry and Company. Details are discussed below.

In 1897 two more titles, these written by Rev. D. C. Eddy, were added to this series making a total of four books.
All Aboard for Europe
All Aboard for Asia and Africa

Here is an 1897 Donohue, Henneberry ad. The authorship of the Eddy books is misattributed to Rand.

The first editions of Eddy's titles were published by Thomas Y. Crowell and Co. Just like the Rand books, a number of other publishers printed these two volumes. The Eddy books also went through a number of name changes. Details are shown below.

Edward Rand
Edward A. Rand (1837-1903) was a prolific writer of juvenile books in the latter half of the 19th century. He is another one of those authors from the last century whose works as well as his name has gone from great popularity to obscurity. Part of the reason is that his books were published (with a couple of exceptions) by some of the lesser lights of the publishing world (Whittaker, Methodist Book Concern, American Sunday School Union). Another reason is that his writing was much less important to him than his ministerial duties. And finally perhaps the lack of staying power is just based on the vagaries of collectors and their whims.

An argument can be made that his books are too moralistic but yet no more so than the boring tales of Rollo by Jacob Abbott, books which have gone through countless printings by numerous publishers. Many of his books are reasonably entertaining stories but Elijah Kellogg, Optic, Castlemon, etc. are still collected and Rand is forgotten.

Edward A. Rand was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Like Jacob Abbott, Rand graduated from Bowdoin College (in 1857-37 years later than Abbott). For several years he taught and was a principal at local high schools in Maine and New Hampshire. He graduated from the Bangor Theological School in 1863 and at that time was ordained to the Congregational Ministry. He served in Amesbury, Massachusetts from 1864-1867 and then in South Boston (1867-1876) and later in Hyde Park. He moved to Watertown in 1880 and subsequently built the Church of the Good Shepard. He remained there the rest of his life.

He was active in numerous local organizations. Rand was one of the founders of the Watertown Historical Society in 1888 and was its president from 1891 until his death in 1903. He helped organize the Watertown Chapter of the Sons of the Revolution in 1898.

His wife, Mrs. Mary Frances Rand wrote several Christmas books. He had five children - four daughters and a son.

With the exception of a handful of non series fiction and non fiction books, Rand's literary output was mainly in the form of juvenile series books. A number of his books were reprinted in England by Nelson, Nisbet, Hutchinson and a few other publishers. Some of his more popular series included the Look Ahead Series, Up the Ladder Club, School and Camp Series and the Bark Cabin Series.

Edward Rand and the All Aboard books
Rand wrote two All Aboard books. All Aboard for the Lakes and Mountains and All Aboard for Sunrise Lands. Before becoming Donohue, Henneberry's two volume All Aboard Series in 1891 and part of its four volume series in 1897, the books were published by a number of different firms. They were very popular and printed in numerous editions.

In these books Uncle Nat goes on adventures with his nephews Ralph and Rick Rogers. Interestingly in the second book, "Lakes and Mountains" Rand added a character from several of his previous books-Rob Merry.

Publishers that printed the Rand books (details about these publications are below):
D. Lothrop and Company
Fairbanks. Palmer and Company
William M. Farrar
Occidental Publishing Company
Pennsylvania Publishing Company
Oriental Publishing Company
Donohue, Henneberry and Co.
Donohue Brothers
M.A. Donohue and Co.

D. Lothrop and Company published the first editions of the two Rand All Aboard books.

All Aboard for Sunrise Lands 1881
All Aboard for the Lakes and Mountains 1883

These titles were published in two formats: cloth ($2.25) and illuminated board covers ($1.75). Two board covers have been seen for "Sunrise Lands". The black cover for "Sunrise Lands" was a generic one utilized by Lothrop for other series, including the Bodley Series. The green cover was also used by the subscriptions houses. See below.

All of the early publications by all of the publishers of All Aboard for Sunrise Lands had the same cloth cover. Below is the 1882 second edition (cloth). The first and second editions are identical except the first edition does not note the edition number on the title page.

D. Lothrop and Company board cover books. (Second edition in boards)

This is the title page of the first edition of both the cloth and illuminated board cover D. Lothrop and Company 1881 edition of this title. There is no mention of an edition number.

Here is the first edition of Rand’s second title published by D. Lothrop and Co. in cloth in 1883.

Although I have not seen the Lothrop edition of Lakes and Mountains in board covers, here is a picture of the book cover from a December, 1883 Lothrop advertisement.

Fairbanks, Palmer and Company, Chicago
After D. Lothrop and Co. published "Sunrise Lands" in cloth and illuminated board covers in 1881 and 1882, the copyright for the that book was taken over by Fairbanks, Palmer and Company (1882). Despite the changeover in copyright ownership, Lothrop listed these titles in its catalogue through 1884. My latest Lothrop books say second edition and the earliest Fairbank's books say "fifteenth thousand" indicating a good Lothrop sales number. In 1885 Fairbanks, Palmer obtained the "Lakes and Mountains" copyright.

What about the almost unknown publishing house of Fairbanks, Palmer and Company?

L.T. Palmer established his publishing business in Chicago in 1873 after gaining experience as a salesman for E. B. Treat and Company, a New York publishing house. Palmer's books were mainly sold as subscription books. In 1878 he formed a partnership with John Fairbanks. Fairbanks had previously been employed by the American Tract Society as its Western manager. The new company was Fairbanks and Palmer.

The earlier house of L(oomis) T. Palmer published such works as The True Path, Annals of the Great Strikes of the United States as well as a number of other long since forgotten books. Fairbanks, Palmer and Company was also a subscription house. Early on it published blank business forms. Thereafter it published these Rand books. Another juvenile series it did was a four volume set , The Tiny Library, by Miss Elizabeth Stuart Phelps. Books on orators, histories, and farming as well as a number of biographies were also on its list.

In 1888 the company was insolvent. Apparently Fairbanks just left New York City without anyone leaving anyone in charge of the finances of the company. Financial woes were not new to this company. In 1884 the publishing house had been temporarily closed because of the actions of creditors. Apparently a new company was formed at that time with the creditors taking stock which clearly was valueless by 1888.

Here are two Fairbanks, Palmer and Company 1883 editions of All Aboard for Sunrise Lands. This 1883 cloth edition has the same format as the earlier Lothrop book. On the title page it notes Fifteenth Thousand. Other subscription publishing houses that Fairbanks worked with are seen under the main imprint.

Note on the imprint of the book (below) that a number of other subscription book firms are listed. It is very likely that there are editions of these books that have one of these firms stated as the main imprint on the title page. Any of these books should be considered quite scarce.

This is the Fairbanks and Palmer edition for All Aboard for the Lakes and Mountains. This firm obtained the copyright for this title in 1885. The cover is identical to the earlier first edition Lothrop publication.

Here are Fairbanks and Palmer ads for the two Rand books. Note that as opposed to the other publishers, this firm has three formats for each book. The $2.00 books have the chromo lithographed covers. There are two cloth versions. The $3.00 book has gilt edges whereas the $2.50 volume has plain edges.

I have not seen a chromolithographed Fairbanks Palmer edition of either of the Rand titles.

William M. Farrar, Chicago
Several other subscription publishing houses printed these titles before the 1891 Donohue, Henneberry Company editions were published.

In 1883 William M. Farrar, a Chicago subscription publishing house printed Sunrise Lands. The only copy I have seen is this illuminated board cover version. It is probable that the board cover Fairbanks, Palmer edition of Sunrise Lands is the same as this Farrar book.

It is most likely that this firm also printed cloth versions of both titles that are identical to the Fairbanks, Palmer books. Of note is that the imprint also includes Fairbanks, Palmer and R. S. Peale and Co.

R. S. Peale, St. Louis
This St. Louis subcription publishing house also published "Sunrise Lands" in 1883. I suspect that it published an illuminated board cover book that is identical to the Farrar book above.

Occidental Publishing House, San Francisco
The Occidental Publishing House, another subscription book firm, published All Aboard for Sunrise lands in 1884 and 1885. These are cloth bound books. Illuminated board cover books may also exist. This firm also printed All Aboard for the Lakes and the Mountains; most likely in both formats.

Pennsylvania Publishing Company, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Another subscription house, the Pennsylvania Publishing Company, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania printed these titles in 1885. Here is a clothbound All Aboard for Sunrise Lands. An illuminated board cover book of this title probably was published. This firm also printed All Aboard for the Lakes and the Mountains; most likely in both formats.

Oriental Publishing Company
This book was published in 1894 by the Oriental Publishing Company. The title of this volume "From Golden Gate Through Sunrise Lands" differs from the previous All Aboard title. The book is slightly larger than all of the others. It is 10" x 8.25" . The others are 8.5" x 7.5". Otherwise the book is identical in content (text and illustrations with the same 384 pages). I do not believe this is an American publisher but I am unclear as to its origin.

The Donohue, Henneberry and Co. All Aboard Edward A. Rand books are discussed after the Rev. D. C. Eddy books are reviewed.

Rev. D(aniel) C. Eddy

As is frequently the story with 19th century juvenile authors, Eddy was a man of the cloth. He graduated in 1845 from the Hampton Theological Institute in New Hampshire. As a Baptist minister he served a number of churches throughout the East. His work began in the Boston area. In 1861 he was moved to Philadelphia. Later he served in Fall River, Massachusetts and Brooklyn, New York.

In 1854 while in Massachusetts he was elected to the state house of representatives where he acted as Speaker of the House. He was a member of the Know Nothing Party. (One of my personal favorite political parties.)

He frequently spoke out about the evils of alcohol. In 1889 he was elected as a manager in the National Temperance Society.

Although he authored a number of religious and moralistic works, Eddy's best sellers were his juvenile series. The Percy Family and Walter's Tour in the East being the best known. He had traveled overseas to Europe in 1850 and to Turkey and the Holy Land in 1861. These adventures served him well while writing his juvenile books since his series were all of the travelogue type.

In Eddy's two "All Aboard" stories Rupert Van Wert a former headmaster of a school in New York travels around the world. His former students Will, Hal and Charlie read about his exploits in letters he sends them.

Publishers that printed the Eddy All Aboard books
T. Y. Crowell and Co.
Belford, Clarke and Co.
L. P. Miller and Co.
Morrill, Higgins and Co.
Charles E. Brown and Co.
Donohue, Henneberry and Co.
Donohue Brothers
M.A. Donohue and Co.

All Aboard for Asia and Africa and All Aboard for Europe were first published by T. Y. Crowell and Co. Eddy wrote these titles with the pseudonym Rupert Van Wert. (The "All Aboard" titles were not used until 1897.) Each volume contains numerous line drawn pictures drawn by many different artists and were clearly taken from other books/journals. Most likely they were publisher's stock photos.

The book's titles changed a number of times between the early and late editions.
 
T. Y. Crowell and Co., New York
The first editions of Eddy's books were published by T. Y. Crowell and Company.

1. Rip Van Winkle's Travels in Foreign Lands 1881 (The ad below notes a name change in 1882 to Travels in Europe even though later editions by other publishers until the late 1880's were still "Travels in Foreign Lands".)

2. Rip Van Winkle's Travels in Asia and Africa 1882

As noted in the ad above, the Crowell books were published in two formats: A fancier cloth book with beveled boards and a chromo-lithographed board covered book (pictured below).

Here is the more expensive cloth edition with beveled boards.
 
The Crowell books' front cover noted Rip Van Winkle's Travels at the top. The later Belford Clarke clothbound books had identical covers except that it had Van Wert's Travels at the top of the cover. Just below is the Belford Clarke Van Wert’s Book.

The books below are the Crowell quarto board volumes. ($1.75)

Here are the title pages for both the cloth and boards' books.

Belford, Clarke and Company, Chicago
Belford, Clarke and Company next published this two volume series in 1884. The internal text and pictures are the same but the titles are different from the earlier Crowell books. The covers and title pages now say "Van Wert's Travels" not Rip Van Winkle's Travels. The chromolithographed covers have a different picture than the Crowell books.

The beveled cloth books cost $2.00 and the chromo lithographed cover books were priced at $1.50.

These editions were published in 1884 and 1885.

In 1884 Belford, Clarke and Company published "Our Boys' and Girls' Tour Around the World" using the same cover as it used on the Van Wert's Travel books. This book however is a reprint of Annie Brassey's "A Voyage in the Sunbeam". The latter story chronicles the Brassey family voyage: her husband , Annie and their four children as they spent a year circumnavigating the globe in a steam yacht. The book is basically Annie's diary. A later title, "The Last Voyage" told of their further adventures. The Belford, Clarke edition does not note an author.

Belford, Clarke and Company published a new format in 1888 and reprinted this edition in 1889, 1890 and 1891. The pre-1888 books are 8.5" x 6.75". These books are 10" x 8". The newer Belford, Clarke and Co. books also have new titles: Young Folks' Travels in Europe and Young Folks' Travels in Asia and Africa. They have chromolithographed front covers.

From this point on the "Foreign Lands" in the title was replaced by “Europe".

The new format was first advertised in 1887 for $1.25. I have not seen a book with an 1887 title page.

All of the Belford, Clarke and Company books have the same internal illustrations and text as the earlier Crowell titles. No author is noted in these books.

1888
1890
1888-1889
1890

L. P. Miller and Co., Chicago
An 1888 copy of Young Folks' Travels in Asia and Africa was published by another Chicago publisher, L. P. Miller and Co. It is presumed this firm also published "in Europe" although it has not been seen.

This book's format is identical to the Belford, Clarke and Co. book. There are 1888 copies from both firms. The relationship between these two companies is unknown. Miller was a subscription publishing house. Its name changed in about 1894 to the Monarch Book Company.

Morrill, Higgins and Co., Chicago
The next publisher to print these titles was the Chicago firm of Morrill, Higgins & Company. This company bought the plates, stock and copyrights of Belford, Clarke and Company in 1892. In August,1893 Morrill Higgins went into receivership and in December, 1893 Conkey bought all of its plates and copyrights. Conkey never published this series however.

Thus Morrill Higgins used the same plates and book covers for the Young Folks' Travels books as Belford, Clarke. The only differences I have seen is that the title page notes the new publisher and the back cover has no Belford, Clarke and Co. advertisements. These were 1892-1893 publications.

Charles E. Brown and Co., Boston
Charles E. Brown, a Boston publisher, printed both of these books in its Roundabout Books Series. The titles were changed to Eddy's Travels in Europe and Eddy's Travels in Asia and Africa. The Rev. D. C. Eddy is noted on the title page as the author. These volumes were published in 1893.

The books were published in cloth and illuminated board covers. The latter books have not been seen.

Donohue, Henneberry and Company, Chicago
The All Aboard Series was first published by this firm in 1891 with the two Edward Rand books. The silk cloth volume cost $1.50 whereas the illuminated lithographed board covers were priced at $1.00.

The clothbound books had no format change until it was discontinued in 1901.

There are several different illuminated board cover books. Except for the cover there is nothing to distinguish them and thus they cannot be dated or prioritized.

In 1897 the Rev. D. C. Eddy titles were added to make the group a four book series. All four volumes were published in both silk cloth and illuminated board covers.

Donohue Brothers, Chicago
In 1900 Michael A. Donohue petitioned a local circuit court to legally help dissolve the partnership between him and William Henneberry. Apparently the partners had been unable to come to an amicable dissolution of their partnership. With his sons, Donohue started up a new firm, Donohue Brothers, in April, 1900. Soon after its founding the Donohue Brothers purchased the plates of the W. L. Allison Company, a prominent New York book publisher. By 1901 Donohue had purchased Henneberry's share, dissolved the Donohue Brothers, and continued the business under the M. A. Donohue and Co. name. Henneberry continued in the book publishing business as the Henneberry Company.

This company published the four book series in both silk cloth (the same as the Donohue, Henneberry books) and illuminated board covers.

Some but not all of the Donohue Brothers' titles are shown below.

M. A. Donohue and Co., Chicago
This book is a transition volume that was published in the earliest days of M. A. Donohue and Company. Note that the cover shows the Donohue Brothers on the bottom right of the cover whereas the title page has M. A. Donohue & Compnay as the publisher.

This cover has not been seen as of yet with a Donohue Brothers title page although most certainly it exists.

This firm published all four books in board covers. Some examples are shown below. These were published beginning in 1901 for just a few years.