De Witt and Davenport / Robert M. De Witt, New York City

De Witt and Davenport was founded in New York City in 1848. Both Robert M. De Witt and James Davenport had previously been involved in the book trade: De Witt with the firm of William H. Graham and Davenport with Davenport and Wood.

James Davenport was born in 1812. In 1833 he was associated with Van Vleck and Davenport, a bookstore in New York City. This firm was succeeded by Davenport and Wood. In 1848 Davenport went into business with Robert M. DeWitt and established DeWitt and Davenport.

Robert M. De Witt (1827-1877) was born in New York City. He worked as a clerk in several bookstores and publishing establishments before going into business with Davenport in 1848.

In 1856 because of the ill health of his wife, Davenport sold out to De Witt and the firm morphed into Robert M. De Witt. Whereas Davenport left the city for St. Paul where he operated a bookstore, De Witt remained in the publishing business. His firm stayed in business until his death in 1877.

The Books:

By 1856 when De Witt and Davenport went out of business, it had published four Mayne Reid books. With the exception of The Scalp Hunters which was first published in 1851 by Lippincott, Grambo, these titles were first editions.

Rifle Rangers; or, Adventures in Southern Mexico -1852 (released in December, 1851) Edition in 8 vo. paper at 50 cents. Three illustrations. The first edition notes a title page address of “Tribune Building”. By 1856 this title was published in cloth.

Scalp Hunters; or, Adventures Among the Trappers -1856 (First edition by Lippincott, Grambo and Co. in 1851.)

Hunters' Feast; or, Conversations Around the Camp-Fire - 1856 (First edition released in December, 1855)

White Chief; A Legend of Northern Mexico -1856 (First edition released in July, 1856)

Format: Cloth. various stamped decorative cover patterns/pictures (see below). Spine with book specific gold gilt pictures and lettering. 7.5” x 5”.

Quadroon; or, A Lover's Adventure in Louisiana- This title is listed in a July, 1856 advertisement as being published by De Witt and Davenport. It appears however that the first edition was actually published in December, 1856 by Robert M. De Witt.

Most often the De Witt and Davenport and the Robert M. De Witt books do not show a date on the title page. They do usually note an address. These addresses can be used to help date their books.

Firm addresses:
1849-1852 - Tribune Building, Nassau Street (156 Nassau Street)
1853-1859 160-162 Nassau Street
1860-1869 No. 13 Frankfort Street
1870-1877 No. 33 Rose Street
(A 19 Frankfort Street has been seen on a title page. This may have been a misprint.)

Here is an advertising cover of De Witt's. (1860-1869 based on the address)



In 1867 books were co-published with Lee and Shepard. (See Headless Horseman title page)

The Rifle Rangers was issued by De Witt and Davenport in December, 1851 in wraps.
The first cloth bound De Witt and Davenport edition has a blind stamped decorative pattern on the cover with a book specific gold gilt picture (and title) on the spine. The date of the first Rifle Rangers in cloth is unknown but certainly by 1856.

Below is the true first.



In 1856 four Mayne Reid's were published by De Witt and Davenport and they each had an 1856 copyright.

Here is an 1856 book (Copyright 1856 and since De Witt and Davenport was out of business in 1857, the date is obvious). This is an earlier 1856 version than the books below this one. The printer is Craighead who was not used later by Robert M. De Witt. There are no ads in the back.



This book has advertisements for the Scalp Hunters and the Hunters' Feast. This most likely is the latest 1856 format since Geo. Russell and Co. is listed as the printer. This printer was used by Robert M. De Witt for later Mayne Reid books.

 



Here is another 1856 edition. This book has no copyright page. Advertisements in the back of the book have no Mayne Reid titles. Thus, this book may be an early 1856 edition. What is difficult to understand however is that the cover is the same as some Robert M. De Witt books (1857 and later).

 

Thus, three different 1856 Mayne Reid De Witt and Davenport titles have three different covers.

Robert M. De Witt

Beginning with Quadroon, Robert M. De Witt published ten Mayne Reid first editions the last being the Headless Horseman in 1867. The date of publication and thus whether the title is a first edition can be a very difficult to determine. The De Witt address (see above) can give a date range. Advertisements in the back (if there are any) can also help.

Rifle Rangers; or, Adventures in Southern Mexico
Scalp Hunters: or, Adventures Among the Trappers
Hunters' Feast; or Conversations around the Campfire
White Chief: A Legend of Northern Mexico
Quadroon; or, A Lover's Adventure in Louisiana Copyright 1856 Robert M. De Witt
War Trail; or, The Hunt of the Wild Horse - Copyright 1857 Robert M. De Witt
Osceola, The Seminole; or , The Red Fawn of the Flower Land (Copyright 1858 Robert M. De Witt)
**Rangers and Regulators of the Tahana (Copyright Robert M. Dewitt 1856)**
Wild Life; or Adventure on the Frontier (Copyright by Robert M De Witt in 1859
Woodrangers; or, The Trappers of Sonora (Copyright 1860 Robert M. De Witt)
Wild Huntress; or, Love in the Wilderness (Copyright 1861 Robert M. De Witt)
Maroon; or Planter Life in Jamaica (Copyright 1864 Robert M. De Witt)
Tiger Hunter; or, A Hero in Spite of Himself (Copyright 1865 Robert M. De Witt)
Lost Lenore; or, The Adventures of a Rolling Stone by Charles Beach edited by Mayne Reid (Copyright 1866 Robert M. De Witt)
Headless Horseman: A Strange Tale of Texas (Copyright 1867 Robert M. De Witt) paper 75 cents /cloth (Co-published with Lee and Shepard)

**Note that although the De Witt list purported to only have books authored by Mayne Reid, the Rangers and Regulators was really written by Alfred W. Arrington using the pseudonym of Charles Summerfield. This book was first published in 1847 by William H. Graham. Robert M. De Witt published this title with Summerfield noted as the author. The De Witt volume was copyrighted in 1856. The title was included by De Witt in its Mayne Reid sets.

It appears that there were three different formats while Robert M. De Witt was publishing at 160-162 Nassua Street (1857-1859).

The earliest of the De Witt books note on the title page “Late De Witt and Davenport”. Thus the book just below is the first edition of The Quadroon which was published in 1856. Whether other titles were published in this format or not is unknown.



Although not certain this second format was probably published in 1857 and maybe 1858. The printer is noted to be Geo. Russell and Co.

Later in 1857 De Witt advertised a "a new and complete edition in six volumes". The volumes cost $1.25 each. As time went on, De Witt added titles to the group until there were thirteen books in this set. The Headless Horseman and Lost Lenore were not published in this format. That last De Witt format is shown below.

This format was also published after De Witt moved from Nassau Street to 13 Frankfort Street in 1860. These two books are from the Nassau Street address.

Based on ads with “War Trail” just published, this is an 1857 book. Based on ads with Osceola last title noted, this is probably an 1858 volume.



Here is the same format at the Frankfort address.

 



Sometime after 1865 De Witt advertised Mayne Reid's Popular Works. New and complete uniform editions - at first there were twelve titles and later fourteen volumes. They were in green cloth, gilt for $1.50 each (see below). The fourteen volumes could be purchased in two boxes of seven volumes each. In 1867 the Headless Horseman was published in this format.

1. Rifle Rangers
2. Scalp Hunters
3. Hunters' Feast
4. White Chief
5. Quadroon
6. War Trail
7. Osceola
8. Rangers and Regulators of the Tanaha (written by Alfred W. Arrington-pseudonym Charles Summer)
9. Wild Life
10. Wood Rangers
11. Wild Huntress
12. Maroon
13. Tiger Hunter
14. Lost Lenore
15. Headless Horseman

Here is an ad for the fourteen titles dated December, 1866.

 



In 1868 George Carleton purchased the Mayne Reid list from De Witt. Carleton's first Mayne Reid volumes were similar to this last DeWitt format.