This edition was published in 1904 visits cities around the world, is illustrated with nearly 200 fine engravings, and in excellent condition.
This is a very interesting (and somewhat mysterious) book. The full title is a mouthful: ‘A Journey Around the World Including Interesting Adventures in Many Lands with Professor Glee and His Class of Young People in Their Travels’. Below is the information I could find, but there are some details that remain uncertain. Nonetheless, this is a fantastic find, dating back over 122 years.
General Description:
Referred to as a late 19th/early 20th-century geography and travel book written by W.E. Scull. The book visits famous cities of Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America, Australia, and many islands in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. There are several edition known to exist. This edition also includes a trip to The St. Louis Exposition, a series of annual agricultural and technical fairs held in St. Louis’s Fairgrounds Park in Missouri and ran from the 1850s to the turn of the 20th century.
The book is profusely illustrated with nearly 200 fine engravings. A total of 417 pages plus the addendum for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. It is a remarkable historic account and a difficult book to find. Equally hard to find was information about the author and original publisher.
More Details:
It was very difficult tracking down more exact details on this book. Several editions found online had differing information (publisher, author, year, etc.) The only consistency was that the book was first entered in to the Library of Congress in 1901 by W.E. Scull.
Searches for W.E. Scull returned results of a publisher of a variety of books at the turn of the 20th century. However, The Library of Congress lists the publisher as International Publishing Co in Chicago. I found several other titles listed as, “published by International Publishing and entered in to the Library of Congress by W.E Scull.” As of this listing, I was unable to find any further information about either entity.
As for the author – Professor Glee and His Class of Young People in Their Travels – there are several online references to Professor Glee as either being a pseudonym for W.E. Skull (or vice versa) or simply ‘author unknown’. As of this listing, I was unable to find any definitive information other than several listings for other editions of this book and (frustratingly) fan theories of the TV show ‘Glee’.
Date of Publication
Although marked as entered in to the Library of Congress in 1901, there is an addendum to this edition about attending The Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, MO on May 1, 1904. That year, the event celebrated the centennial of the purchase. Other editions have similar addendums celebrating different events. Either way, it’s safe to assume that this version of the book was itself published over 122 years ago.
Condition:
There’s some slight wear on the cover/binding and tanning of the pages due to age. Plus some minor discoloration on the bottom corner of the last 100 or so pages from what appears to be moisture. Other than that, this book is in excellent condition for being 122+ years old.
More details, price, and photos on eBay -> ebay.com/itm/116099167787
