Item - Beadle's Dime Dialogues no. 1

The first Dime Dialogue was published by Irwin P. Beadle from 137 William Street, and in its earliest form bears no serial number. The imprint is Irwin P. Beadle, and not Irwin P. Beadle & Co. Erastus Beadle had come to New York in the autumn of 1858 and, with Robert Adams, had established the office of The Home — Beadle & Adams, Publishers — at 333 Broadway, but on the first of May, 1859, removed to 137 William Street. Irwin, also at 333 Broadway, removed at the same time, for his Dime Song Book, No. 2, was published July 27, 1859, and bears the 137 William Street address. The first Dialogue was filed for copyright July 20, 1859, but had been announced in Song Book No. 2, as ready July 13. This unnumbered issue is a small volume, 5 7/8 by 3 ¾ inches in size, with trimmed edges and stabbed binding, in pale cream wrappers which bear the cut of a dime on the front, but no other illustration. The title page reads: "The Dime Dialogues. Designed especially for schools, exhibitions, and families, by Louis Legrand, M.D." The book has 72 pages and several pages of advertisements of Irwin P. Beadle's Handbooks, namely, a Cook Book, a Recipe Book, a Dime Dialogue, a Dime Speaker, and two Dime Song Books.

Later, the book was reissued by Irwin P. Beadle & Co., 137 William Street. It has buff covers, with no illustration on the front, and is somewhat different in design from the preceding. There is additional material, the pages do not correspond in appearance to the original, for new type was used, and the title page was marked "Revised and Enlarged Edition." The contents of the first 76 pages are identical with the 72 of the original edition, but page 6, the first page of dialogues, becomes page 10, and new material was added at the end to bring the number up to 99. The book was deposited in the copyright office April 28, 1864. The size is 6 3/8 by 4 1/8 inches.

Still later, No. 1 was issued in cream colored covers of the same form as the preceding, by Beadle & Co., 118 William Street, and was deposited for copyright on January 16, 1864. After that it came out with an illustration on the front cover, "The Crowning of Florence Nightingale," and had the usual orange wrappers. It is 6 ½ by 4 ¼ inches in size, and has the same contents as the former revised version. Still more recent imprints are those of Beadle & Co., 98 William Street, and Beadle & Adams, 98 William Street, the latter on both good and pulp paper. Finally M. J. Ivers & Co. reissued it (copyrighted December 29, 1898) on pulp paper, in the same form as the preceding. The cut of the dime does not occur on the front wrapper.--Johannsen, A. House of Beadle and Adams