The first book edition of this title was published in 1908 by Thompson and Thomas, a Chicago area book publisher. It had the copyright as of December 9, 1908. It was illustrated by Charles Lederer.

This title was previously published in serialized form beginning in August, 1908. W. G. Chapman held an earlier 1908 copyright and as a book agent with the International Press Bureau was responsible for syndicating this title in numerous newspapers.

Here is an ad announcing the Airship series to be published in The Pittsburgh Press. It is dated August 12, 1908.

Here is the April 23, 1909 column from The Virginia Enterprise (Virginia, Minnesota)

These serialized parts ran were published as late as November, 1909. Not infrequently they were published in a different chronological sequence as the book chapters. In addition some of the serialized columns were never published in book form.

For more information, see Peck’s Bad Boy in an Airship.

Peck’s Bad Boy with the Circus was copyrighted by Joseph Bowles in 1905. Bowles ran the Chicago based Bowles Syndicate Company. He organized the syndication of this story in newspapers throughout the country. The text and line drawn illustrations first appeared serialized in newspapers starting in 1905. All 26 chapters were published weekly in numerous newspapers.

Here is an advertisement for the series from the Los Angeles Herald dated June 25, 1905.

Some newspapers were publishing the weekly chapters as late as June of 1907. Interestingly a number of chapters that appeared in the newspapers were not part of the 319 page book. Two examples are shown below. It is unclear how many extra chapters were written. Based on the travels of Peck and His Pa in the book, these new chapters go further into the western part of the United States.

Los Angeles Herald June 25, 1905

June 1, 1906 Muldrow Press, Muldrow, Oklahoma

June 15, 1906 Muldrow Press, Muldrow, Oklahoma

For more information, see Peck’s Bad Boy with the Circus

The first book edition of this title was published by Thompson and Thomas in 1905. Prior to that however, Peck’s Bad Boy Abroad was published in serialized form in numerous newspapers throughout the country. Newspapers carried the story between 1904 and 1905. Apparently it was copyrighted and distributed by Joseph B. Bowles who ran the Bowles Syndicate Company from his office in Chicago.

Each week a newspaper would print what eventually would be a chapter in the book. Not all of the chapters in the book were serialized in newspapers and the chapters in the newspaper versions were not necessarily published in the same as order as the chapters in the book. A few of the newspaper columns appeared in the book and a number of the chapters in the book were never part of the newspaper serialization. Not all of the newspapers began the publication of Peck’s Bad Boy Abroad at the same time.

The first printings were in September,1904 and those newspapers began with book Chapter 34 (out of 38 chapters). The newspapers printed illustrations for each chapter all of which ended up in the book although many of the book pictures were never included in the newspaper versions.

Here is an ad from the September 23, 1904 Washington Post:

The Pittburgh Sunday Press advertised The upcoming Peck story in these ads.

For more information, see Peck’s Bad Boy Abroad

Here is the Peck’s Sun for Saturday, February 17, 1883. Note the Peck’s Bad Boy column on the far left above the fold. This column, in its entirety, appeared in Peck’s Bad Boy and His Pa as chapter 35 in the 1883 Belford, Clarke and Co. first edition. This is the penultimate chapter in the book.

This 15 page book with blue backing book has Stanton and Vliet Company ads on the last page. Thus, even though the imprint is Thompson and Thomas, it clearly was published by Stanton and Van Vliet Company.

This comic has the Stanton and Van Vliet Company imprint. It was published between 1917 and the 1920’s.

For more information, see Comics.

This Peck biography appeared in the Feb. 13, 1886 “Tid-bits”, An Illustrated Weekly for These Times. It was published by the John W. Lovell Company. It is in wraps with humorous stories, puzzles, cartoons, fashion items, etc. In terms of content it is not unlike Peck’s Sun.

This is an interesting contemporaneous biography.

For more information, see Biography.

Chas. Guinness was an unauthorized producer of this play. This playbill was printed in 1885 for a production in Milford, New Hampshire. The three acts noted are different from the three acts of the authorized play written by Pidgin. The New York Mirror stated that “Guinness is presenting a garbled version of Peck’s Bad Boy in the smaller New England towns”. In December, 1886 Guinness produced a take-off of the Peck’s Bad Boy play called “Fun in a Grocery Store”.

For more information, see Playbills.

Movie advertising flyers:
These little items are 7.5 x 3.5.

In 1884 the Atkinson Comedy Company continued as the only authorized company to produce the Peck’s Bad Boy play. During Atkinson’s production years, a number of different managers ran the company- Charles Atkinson, Atkinson and Gilbert, Rich and Harris, Frank Daly, Dan Daly, Geo. W. Heath, Heath and Farren, Fred P. Wilson, Griffin and Wilson and more.

Here is a letter from the manager, Will J. Banks, of the Atkinson Comedy Company dated May 16th, 1889. He is requesting information about open dates in June to perform the play. Interesting that there is so little lag time between securing the venue and the actual play’s date.

Burdett’s Seriocomic Recitations and Readings edited by James S. Burdett 1894

This 164 page book in wraps contains numerous short vignettes. Some are humorous (like Peck’s contribution) while others are moralistic. Peck’s 3.5 page blurb comes from Peck’s Bad Boy and His Pa Chapter 19 “His Pa is “Nishiated”. It originally appeared in Peck’s Sun.

This book was published by the Excelsior Publishing House in New York.

I have seen two different editions of this paperback. The top one is No. 32 in the Excelsior Library and is dated Jan. 15th, 1894. The bottom book has no date and is probably a reprint of the 1894 book.

Both books note “New Edition” on the title page. The earlier edition may have been “A New Collection of Comic Recitations and Humorous Readings” published in 1883 by Roorbach and Company and reprinted by the Excelsior Publishing House. Burdett included a short one page vignette “That Bad Boy Again” from Peck’s Sun in the latter book.

1894 edition

Later edition

Peck’s contribution