T. B. Peterson, Philadelphia
T. B. Peterson and Brothers, Philadelphia

After working as a printing foreman at the Saturday Evening Post, Theophilus Beasley Peterson opened a newsstand in 1844 at No. 98 Chestnut Street. By January, 1845 Peterson was in the publishing business. In 1854 the city of Philadelphia revised addresses so that without so much as packing a suitcase, T. B. Peterson was at 102 Chestnut Street. In 1858 Peterson's brothers George W. and Thomas joined the firm. The publisher was renamed T. B. Peterson and Brothers and moved to 306 Chestnut Street.

98 Ches(t)nut Street 1844-1853
102 Chestnut 1854-1858
306 Chestnut 1858-

The Arthur Peterson published books are among the hardest to find. Perhaps it because almost all of the T. B. Peterson Arthur books were paperbound.

Beginning in 1848 and continuing until the late 1870’s, Peterson published a number of T. S. Arthur books, most of which were first editions.

Determining if a T. B. Peterson published title is a first edition is a challenge. There are two factors that are key.
1. Note the copyright of the book and then look at the Peterson address. If a 1850 copyrighted book has the 102 Chestnut address (1854-1858), it is clearly not a first edition. Appreciate that Peterson never put a date on any of its title pages.
2. Below are the books listed in groups chronologically. Within each group, the titles are also listed starting with the title published the earliest.

Thus if you look at the 1849 books: If Love in a Cottage notes Agnes in the Arthur advertised list of books, then Love in a Cottage is not a first edition. Most Peterson books I have seen do have an advertisement for Arthur books either in the front or the back.

Other notes.
1. Mary Moreton is sometimes listed as The Broken Promise.
2. The only two titles published in cloth are Lizzy Glenn and Six Nights with the Washingtonians.

By 1849 Peterson had published five Arthur books in pamphlet form. They were being sold for 25 cents or the lot for $1.00.
Insubordination (Reprint)
Love in a Cottage
Lucy Sandford
Agnes, or the Possessed
Love in the High Life

By the end of 1850 the Arthur list had grown to eleven titles.
The new volumes were:
Mary Moreton (advertised as The Broken Promise also)
Debtor’s Daughter
Orphan Children
Two Brides
Pride and Prudence
Divorced Wife

As the years went on the list of these Peterson published Arthur books grew longer. This uniform edition cost 25 cents (five for a dollar). Two additional titles were noted by the end of 1852. Thus, at this time there were 13 titles.
Banker’s Wife
Cecelia Howard

Sixteen titles were published in the Arthur series by the end of 1853.
The new titles were:
Two Merchants
Iron Rule
Lady at Home

There were eighteen titles noted by the end of 1855
Year after Marriage
Trial and Triumph

Lost Bride which was published in 1866 was the nineteenth

In 1877 the last of T. B. Peterson's Arthur titles was published. The first edition of The Latimer Family cost 50 cents and was in paper covers.

In 1865 the format of the Arthur books was changed. They still cost 25 cents (50 cents in 1866).

In 1866 Peterson’s Illuminated Stories Series included a number of Arthur titles. These books cost 25 cents and had numerous illustrations and had five color illuminated covers.
Two Merchants
Year after Marriage
Love in High Life
Divorced Wife
Debtor’s Daughter
Lady at Home
Mary Moreton
Two Brides

In 1872 T. B. Peterson announced that "Love in High Life" would be the first volume in a "new cheap and popular edition of the celebrated Household Stories of T. S Arthur”. The price was 50 cents. It is unknown whether this series was published or not.

There were two T. S. Arthur books that were not part of the paperbound or illuminated cover series.

Lizzie Glenn was published by Peterson in 1859. It is a first edition. It was published over many years both in cloth and paper.

Six Nights with the Washingtonians was first published as a reprint by Peterson in 1865. It was published by this firm until the mid 1880’s. Initially it was produced in paper covers and cloth. By 1873 "Six Nights" was being sold as a subscription book in three formats.
Royal 8 vo., bound in fine English cloth, beveled boards, full gilt back - $3.50
Red Roan, full gilt back, mottles edges - $4.50
Full turkey morocco, antique beveled boards , full gilt edges, full gilt sides - $6.00

In the late 1870’s it was part of Peterson’s Dollar Series


Here is an alphabetical list of the Arthur books. The date of the first Peterson edition is noted.

Agnes; or, The Possessed First edition, Copyright 1848
Banker’s Wife; or, Like Father, Like Son First edition Copyright 1851
Broken Promise (See Mary Moreton)
Debtor’s Daughter; or, Life and its Changes First edition Copyright 1850
Divorced Wife First edition copyright 1850 (Serialized in Arthur’s Home Gazette in 1850)
Insubordination; or, The Shoemaker’s Daughter Reprinted by Peterson in 1848.
Iron Rule; or, Tyranny in the Household First edition, Copyright 1853
Lady at Home; or, Happiness in the Household Reprint by Peterson in 1853
Latimer Family; or, The Bottle and the pledge First edition, Copyright 1877
Lizzy Glenn; or, The Trials of a Seamstress First edition, Copyright 1859
Lost Bride; or, The Astrologer’s Prophecy Fulfilled First edition, copyright 1866
Love in a Cottage First edition, Copyright 1848
Love in High Life First edition, Copyright 1849
Lucy Sandford: A Story of a Heart First edition, Copyright 1848
Mary Moreton; or, The Broken Promise First edition, Copyright 1849
Old Astrologer (Advertised as being in wraps between1854-1855 for 25 cents-Title cannot be confirmed.)
Orphan Children; A Tale of Cruelty and Oppression First edition, copyright 1850
Pride and Prudence; or, The Married Sisters First edition, Copyright 1850
Seamstress (Advertised as being in wraps between 1854-1855 for 25 cents-Title cannot be confirmed.)
Six Nights with the Washingtonians Reprinted by Peterson in 1865
Two Brides First edition, Copyright 1850
Two Merchants; or, Solvent and Insolvent Reprinted by Peterson in 1853
Trial and Triumph; or, Firmness in the Household First edition, Copyright 1855 (Serialized in the Saturday Evening Post in 1852)
Trials of an Old Needle-Woman (Advertised as being in wraps between1854-1855 for 50 cents-Title cannot be confirmed as published.)
Year after Marriage First edition, Copyright 1854

This copy of Orphan Children lists nine T. S. Arthur titles. Two Brides, which is listed in the back ads, was published after The Orphan Children. Thus this book is an early but probably not a first, edition of this title.

The Banker’s Wife was copyrighted in 1851 and was the 12th Arthur title published by Peterson. Only 11 titles are noted in the back ads. This is a first edition.

This copy has an inscription of December, 1863.

This “Six Nights” appears to be the cloth bound format published prior to the fancy subscription copies. Probably published between 1865 and 1873.

Here is a Six Nights from the Late 1870's. It is part of Peterson's Dollar Series