Harlie Stories

The Harlie Series is a six volume set originally published the the New York firm of Sheldon and Company.

Four different publishers printed books from the Harlie Stories. Sheldon and Company, Butler Bros., Worthington, and J. W. Lovell. Despite the number of publishers, these books are among the more difficult to find. For details see below.

The Books
I. The New Shoes
II. The French Flower
III. Harlie's Letter
IV. Wild Peggie
V. The Sea-Shore
VI. Friskie, The Pony

Sheldon and Company, New York

This firm published the first editions of all six books in 1863. All the first edition books have an 1862 copyright. The first editions have 1863 on the title page. Later editions in 1864, 1865, 1867, 1869 and 1872 have been seen. The Sheldon books are square 16 mo.

1863		1865

Butler Brothers, New York and Chicago (Late 1880's)

Butler Brothers was a department store that published several publisher's series between 1887 and 1890. This firm printed "Abbott's Stories for Children" which included three Harlie titles: Wild Peggie, The New Shoes and The Sea Shore.

R. Worthington (Worthington Co.), New York

From 1876 to 1885 this publisher was called R. Worthington and between 1885 to 1893 it was called the Worthington Co..

In 1882 R. Worthington published all six Harlie titles in a boxed set. They are cloth 16 mo. square with gold gilt lettering.

Later Harlie books were part of this firm's Franklin Series. In 1888 Worthington added book titles #101-183 to its Franklin Series.

In the Franklin Series, Worthington published two Harlie books. One was called the Harlie Stories (#145) and contained the French Flower, Harlie's Letter and Friskie, The Pony. It also printed "Abbott's Stories for Children" as part of the Franklin Series (#120). The latter Harlie book included three Harlie titles: Wild Peggie, The New Shoes and The Sea Shore.

Since both of these titles were first added to the Franklin Series in 1888, it is hard to understand how there is a Harlie book with the R. Worthington imprint. The best explanation is that Worthington used the plates from its earlier Harlie Series that was published in 1882.

The Franklin books are shown below.

Franklin Edition #120 1888

John W. Lovell, New York (Early 1890's)

The Rugby Edition was one of the largest publisher's series of this firm. Harlie's Letters was included in this series. Abbott's Stories for Children which included three Harlie titles: Wild Peggie, The New Shoes and The Sea Shore was also part of this series.