John E. Potter and Company, Philadelphia

John E. Potter (1827-1893) was born in Rhode Island into a distinguished family. Relatives had served in the Revolutionary War as well as the War of 1812. In 1853 he established his publishing business on Third Street in Philadelphia with the big seller being the first edition of Dr. Belcher's " Religious Denominations of the World". Buoyed by this success, he moved to 617 Sansom Street where the firm remained for a quarter of a century. Potter incorporated between late 1865 and early 1866 with the name change to John E. Potter and Company. (Some early imprints just after the incorporation note John E. Potter & Co.)

Later in 1888 John E. Potter and Co. was located at Tenth and Filbert (29-35 North Tenth Street) and finally moved to 1111 and 1113 Market Street in February, 1889.

In March,1867 Potter bought the plates and stock of Bradley and Company. This included the works of T. S. Arthur. Potter published 33 T. S. Arthur titles between 1867 and 1889. All of these volumes were reprints except for After the Storm. This 1868 copyrighted book was a first edition published by John E. Potter and Company.

In 1867 Potter renamed Twenty Years Ago and Now to Allen House.

Also in 1867 Potter published five Arthur series: Arthur's Sketches from Life, Way to Prosper, Good Time Coming, Three Eras in a Woman's Life and Arthur's Advice to Young People.

In 1869 the Rainbow Series was published. Five of the six books were initially published by Geo. W. Carleton. Only After the Storm was an original Potter publication. Later in the 1880's it was renamed the New Rainbow Series.

Potter was a very prolific subscription publishing house. Arthur's titles were a major part of that business. In 1889 the Keystone Publishing Company of Philadelphia purchased the entire manufacturing establishment of John E. Potter and Company. The Keystone Arthur covers are the same as two of the latest Potter covers (See below).

Here is a list of the 33 Potter T. S Arthur titles in alphabetical order. The series are shown below.

Advice to Young Ladies
Advice to Young Men
After the Storm (First edition)
Allen House
Angel and the Demon
Angel of the Household (Combined with Home Mission)
Before and After Marriage
Golden Grain from Life's Harvest Field
Good Time Coming
Hand Without the Heart
Heart Histories and Life Pictures
Home Scenes
Leaves from the Book of Human Life
Light on the Shadowed Paths
Lights and Shadows of Real Life
Martyr Wife
Mary Ellis; or, The Runaway Match
Nothing But Money
Old Man's Bride
Our Neighbors in the Corner House
Out in the World
Sketches of Life and Character
Sparing to Spend
Steps Towards Heaven
Ten Nights in a Bar-Room
Three Eras in a Woman's Life
Trials and Confessions of a Housekeeper
True Riches ( Combined with Shadows and Sunbeams)
Way to Prosper (Combined with Finger Posts)
What Came Afterwards
What Can Woman Do?
Withered Heart
Young Lady at Home

Between 1867 (Rainbow Series in 1869) and 1882 all the 33 Potter T. S. Arthur books were published in the six series shown below.

Arthur's Temperance Stories (Announced by Potter as new editions in March of 1867)
Noted also as Arthur's Sketches from Life
Lights and Shadows of Real Life
Sketches of Life and Character
Leaves from the Book of Human Life
Boxed 1.75 /5.25
12 mo. cloth

Arthur's Way to Prosper Series (Noted to start in 1867)
The Way to Prosper (Combined with Finger Posts)
The Angel of the Household (Combined with Home Mission)
True Riches ( Combined with Shadows and Sunbeams)
Heart Histories. and Life Pictures
Home Scenes
Sparing to Spend
Boxed
Set $9.00/each 1.50
16 mo. cloth
Three of the six title Way to Prosper Series were published previously by Bradley in its Cottage Library. (True Riches, Way to Prosper, and Angel of the Household). The three other titles from the earlier Cottage Library are combined with the three titles that were within the Cottage library. See above title list for the combination books.

Three Eras in a Woman's Life (Noted to start in 1867)
The Three Eras in a Woman's Life
Before and After Marriage
Young Lady at Home
The Martyr Wife
Mary Ellis; or, The Runaway Match
Steps Towards Heaven
Boxed, $9.00 set or $1.50 each
16 mo cloth

Good Time Coming Series (Noted to start in 1867)
Good Time Coming
The Allen House (Original title name was Twenty Years Ago and Now)
What Can Woman Do?
The Withered Heart
Angel and the Demon
Trials and Confessions of a Housekeeper
6 book set 7.50 or 1.25 each
16 mo cloth

Arthur's Advice to Young People (Started in 1867)
Advice to Young Men
Advice to Young Ladies
Ten Nights in a Bar-Room
Hand Without the Heart
Old Man's Bride
Golden Grain from Life's Harvest Field
Set 7.50 in a box/ 1.25 each
16 mo. cloth

Arthur's (New) Rainbow Series (First noted in 1869)
After the Storm - published as first edition by Potter in 1868
Light on the Shadowed Paths
Out in the World
Our Neighbors in the Corner House
Nothing But Money
What Came Afterwards
Boxed 9.00 /1.50 each
12 mo cloth

In 1869 John E. Potter and Company published the six books as a series. Five of the six books (Not After the Storm) were initially copyrighted and published by Geo. W. Carleton, a New York publisher. All the Potter books were 12 mo. Initially the series was named the Rainbow Series. By the early 1880's it was renamed the New Rainbow Series. The earlier series was published and sold as a $9.00 boxed set. The New Rainbow Series' books were sold individually at $1.50 and as a boxed set for $9.00 until 1883 when the book price dropped to $1.00.

By the early 1880's (1883-1884) the 33 Arthur books were no longer being published in series form. They were still being printed but within a large group of 12 mo. volumes called John E. Potter and Co.'s Popular Books. These books were now priced at $1.00 each.

The Potter formats of the T. S. Arthur books are very difficult to sort through. I have found nine styles so far but cannot totally sort them chronologically. Dates when known are given.

Format 1: "Blindstamped"
This book is blindstamped. Several variants of these blindstamped books exist. The earliest has the top of the "E" in the JEP initials on the front cover above the "P". (The very earliest books in this format have Bradley & Co. imprints on the title page. The title page dates are 1866 which indicates that the contents of these volumes were printed by Bradley but given to Potter to bind after the sale to Potter had occurred.) The latest of these books has John E. Potter spelled out on the base of the spine as opposed to the other earlier books with only the Potter initials at the base of the spine.. The earlier books are 7" x 4.5". The later book is 7.5" x 5.5" (12 mo.) These books were published from 1867 to approximately 1870.

Note that the "E" is higher than the other letters

Potter is spelled out at the base of the spine in this variant.

I cannot be certain of the chronology of the Formats 2-5. Thus they are listed as my best guess and will be finalized as more information is available. They were printed after 1870 and before the mid-1880's

Format 2. Four circles
Line drawn decoration on the front cover. 7" x 4.5".
This is the only other format that script John E. Potter initials have been seen on the base of the spine.

Format 3. Decoration 1.
Line drawn decoration on the front cover. Multiple spine decorations have been noted. 6.75" x 4.75".

Format 4. Bow Cover
No information about this format known except for the cover.

Format 5. Decoration 2
Black decorative pattern on the front cover. 7.75" x 5.25"
This book is placed here because of the similar spine decoration that is on Format 6 books and a book has an 1877 inscription.

Format 6. Stagecoach Format
Front cover has a stagecoach on the bottom right and a house on the upper left. 6.75" x 4.75". Several different spine pictures/ decorations have been seen. The significance is unclear. These books were published in the 1880-1883 era.

Format 7: Umbrella Girl
Cover has multiple pictures including one with an umbrella girl. 7.5" x 5.5".
This book either goes just before or just after Format 6. I think it is after because of the size of the volume and because the ads are identical to those found in the Keystone books.

Format 8. Keystone Format
This cover is the same as the Arthur covers in books published by Keystone, a subscription house. Title page addresses of both Sansom and 10th Street have been seen. 7.5" x 5.5". 1885-1889

Format 9. "Sitting at Table"
This format only notes the 10th Street address.
Cover has a picture of a man seated at a table. 7.5" x 5.25". 1889. This cover was subsequently used by the Keystone Publishing Company.