I have always collected books about the Galveston and the 1900 Hurricane. My grandmother, Matilda Gruetzmacher, grew up there and saw many of her family die from drowning or from disease after the storm. I never really knew her, and certainly, she never spoke of the events of September to my siblings or myself. But her children were born storytellers and they passed down to me her memories of the Galveston Storm and the effects the death and destruction played upon the family. The tales have always fascinated me, and I would sit and listen to the folks rehash bits and pieces of the saga over cups of coffee. In my late teens and early twenties I would make trips to Galveston, not to lounge on the beach, but to walk the sidewalks of my ancestors and spend days pestering the librarians at the Rosenberg Library.
When I chose bookselling as my profession (or did it choose me?), I started gathering copies of the five books that were issued soon after the hurricane. These books were the "instant books" of the day, most of them hobbled together within weeks of the devastating flood. I soon noticed that there were differences in copies that I handled. The differences were as subtle as an extra page added to the end, or a different picture on a particular page, or something as noticable as a binding variation. I soon realized that text was often added to the books as new material became available. Some of the publishers would reset the presses, replacing hurriedly drawn illustrations with the new and exciting photographs that were freshly arriving from the island showing the shattered remains of the Oleander City.
These differences piqued my curiousity and over time I have attempted to sort out some of the glaring differences found. Much work still needs to be done, but I am resigned to the fact that all the small differences between copies may never be found. As some of these books were issued by different publishers, the variations may be incalculable. While these books are sought after by present and ex-residents of Galveston, historians and others, they have never been valuable enough for earlier booksellers or collectors to notice, much less catalogue the differences. This is a small attempt to bring light to a dark corner of Galveston history. I hope the reader enjoys the material found herein and will pass along any information pertaining to variant copies they might come upon.
This is for you, Mattie!
GALVESTON IN NINETEEN HUNDRED. Edited by Clarence Ousley. Atlanta, Ga.: William C. Chase, 1900. 346, (2 adv.) pp. Burgundy cloth covered pictorial boards with black and gold lettering on the cover and spine.
Probably the scarest of the five books published, Ousley's was "Published for the Benefit of the Galveston Public Schools." It is also the least sensational of the books, which probably is partially the reason for it's scarcity. The book includes material on Galveston history prior to the storm, along with chapters on railroads and shipping through the Port, import and export trade, manufacturing interests, churches and schools. The book includes a partial list of the dead (pages 291-305) numbering 4,293 persons accounted for. Photographs of Galveston from before the hurricane are included along with many pictures of the destruction caused from the storms fury. The book was sent to the printers soon after October 19, 1900 as that is the latest date found mentioned in the book. I have never seen a salesman's copy of this book, nor have I seen a copy with a ownership date mentioned. [Ousley 1]
GALVESTON IN NINETEEN HUNDRED. Edited by Clarence Ousley. [No publishing data available, not in collection.]
This is the only copy I have ever seen of this cover in 30 years of collecting and researching Galveston Storm material. It looks to be a copy with beige colored cloth covered pictorial boards with black and orange lettering on the cover and spine. [Ousley 2]
GALVESTON: THE HORRORS OF A STRICKEN CITY. By Murat Halstead. [no place]: American Publishers Association, (1900). (18), xi, (80), 1 (adv.), 8 pp. lined pages for taking orders. Deep red decorated cloth covered boards with the title in gilt. No title on narrow (1/2") spine. The title is printed on rear board.
This is a copy of a salesman's dummy used to solicit and record orders. The publisher would find entreprenuers who would canvass their town or neighborhood taking orders for forthcoming books. This abbreviated edition has examples of the text and chapter headings and most importantly, dozens of photographs and illustrations of the devastation at Galveston. [Halstead 1]
I believe that complete copies of this book in this style binding exist, but I have not been able to verify as yet. [possibly Halstead 2]
GALVESTON: THE HORRORS OF A STRICKEN CITY. By Murat Halstead. Chicago, Ill.: W. B. Conkey Company, (1900). (4), xi, 33-363, (5) pp. Medium red decorated cloth over boards with the title Galveston in white lettering on the front and spine.
A rare edition, this being the only copy in this binding ever seen in the twenty-five years. The text is exactly the same as the editions listed below. The photographs are either different, or are placed in different order from the other editions. Priority over other editions is unknown.
Murat Halstead's version of the Galveston Storm is a good example of the yellow journalism that was quite popular then. The author thrills the reader with tales of horror and gruesome events, from fantastic tales of survival, the looting the of the dead by ethnic stereotypes, to the description of the funeral pyres used to rid the city of thousands of corpses. Much of the book is taken up with other material to beef up the book. The author gives the reader some Texas history, including the Battle of the Alamo, the Great Chicago Fire, the Great London Storm and other "memorable" disasters. Halstead's preface is dated September 13, 1900, but there is mention within of articles as late as September 21, 1900. [Halstead 3]
GALVESTON: THE HORRORS OF A STRICKEN CITY. By Murat Halstead. [no place]: American Publishers Association, (1900). (4), xi, 33-363, (5) pp. Medium red illustrated cloth over boards with the title in gilt and black on the front and spine.
A scarce edition, especially in good or better condition. Between the cheap, now brittle, newsprint used inside and a poor choice of tasty glue (at least to bugs and mice) used in the binding, this edition always seems to be rather abused. The cover illustration is the most "colorful" of all the Galveston Storm books, featuring a negro in the act of looting the dead, while a rifle-bearing militiaman is exacting justice upon him. The original price of this edition was $1.50. [Halstead 4]
GALVESTON: THE HORRORS OF A STRICKEN CITY. By Murat Halstead. [no place]: American Publishers Association, (1900). (4), xi, 33-363, (5) pp. Bound in half-morocco and deep blue cloth over boards with the title in gilt on the front and spine. Marbled page edges.
A slightly more scarce edition most probably caused by the higher price. Usually found in better condition then the previous edition but still printed with cheap newsprint. The original price of this edition in "Half Morocco Style" binding was $2.25. [Halstead 5]
GALVESTON: THE HORRORS OF A STRICKEN CITY. By Murat Halstead. [no place]: American Publishers Association, (1900). (4), xi, 33-363, (5) pp. Bound in quarter-leather and medium tan cloth over boards with the title in gilt on the front and spine. Marbled page edges.
A scarce edition, having never seen this binding before. This binding, while made with relatively cheap leather, is still superior to the previously mentioned leather edition. Its design is completely different, and is not shown as an option in the books prospectus. The interior is the same as all the other editions. [Halstead 6]
THE COMPLETE STORY OF THE GALVESTON HORROR. WRITTEN BY THE SURVIVORS. Edited by John Coulter. [no place]: United Publishers of America, (1900). (115), (1 adv.), 8 pp. lined pages for taking orders. Dark brown decorated cloth covered boards with illustration pasted down and the title in gilt. No title on narrow (1/2") spine. The title is printed on rear board.
Copies of this "Salesman's Sample" show that the publisher used many drawn illustrations of horrific and exciting events to lure the customer into placing an order for the book. Many of these drawings were later replaced with photographs of the disasters aftermath. Both the salesman's dummy and the completed book are poorly bound and using inferior paper, usually resulting in browned and brittle pages and cracked hinges.[Coulter 1]
THE COMPLETE STORY OF THE GALVESTON HORROR. WRITTEN BY THE SURVIVORS. Edited by John Coulter. [no place]: United Publishers of America, (1900). 386 pp. Medium to dark brown decorated cloth covered boards with illustration pasted down. The titles on the front cover and spine are in gilt.
One of the more common editions available. Another example of the sensational journalism that was popular in 1900. Gaudily illustrated with drawings depicting events that may have occurred, from daring rescues, amazing escapes and terrible deaths, to the looting of stores and corpses. There are some photographs included that show damage to the island, but there is not near as many as some of the other books. This book was rushed to press very early on, with the latest mentioned date of September 20. Included at the rear is a list of identified dead, up to September 18. Originally priced at $1.50 [Coulter 2]
THE COMPLETE STORY OF THE GALVESTON HORROR. WRITTEN BY THE SURVIVORS. Edited by John Coulter. [no place]: United Publishers of America, (1900). 386 pp. Bound in "Half Morocco" in dark red leather with green cloth. The titles on the front cover and spine are in gilt. Marbled page edges.
A relatively scarce edition, most probably because of fewer copies of this 'deluxe' edition selling at $2.25. The edition is textually the same as the regular edition, and is also printed on cheap wood-pulp paper. [Coulter3]
STORY OF THE GALVESTON FLOOD. COMPLETE, GRAPHIC, AUTHENTIC. Edited by Nathan C. Green. Baltimore: R. H. Woodward Company, 1900. (100) pp. Green decorated cloth over boards with title in gilt. Spine title example in gilt is printed on the rear board.
Salesman's dummy of this book on the Galveston Hurricane. A mix of text, drawn illustrations and photographs are provided to give the prospective buyer an idea of the books contents. The illustrations, many printed on one side only, are printed on glossy paper resulting in a better looking book overall. The text paper used is of good quality, and has held up fairly well over the last 100 years. [Green1]
STORY OF THE GALVESTON FLOOD. COMPLETE, GRAPHIC, AUTHENTIC. Edited by Nathan C. Green. Baltimore: R. H. Woodward Company, 1900. 366 pp. Green decorated cloth over boards with title on front and spine in gilt.
Newsman Green's version of the storm, while a bit overblown, seems to be the most balanced overall, save for the Ousley book. It is also the second most scarce book of the five. The author mentions the date of September 26 within the text, making this the second to last of the five published. This extra week to ten days evidently gave the editor more time to polish his story, to include more information and to add more pictures of the disasters aftermath. [Green2]
STORY OF THE GALVESTON FLOOD. COMPLETE, GRAPHIC, AUTHENTIC. Edited by Nathan C. Green. Baltimore: R. H. Woodward Company, 1900. 367 pp. Green decorated cloth over boards with title on front and spine in gilt.
An exact duplicate of the previous version, save for a one page addition. A facsimile of the Galveston News front page, dated Monday, September 10, 1900 has been tipped in on the blank page opposite page 366. [Green3]
THE GREAT GALVESTON DISASTER. By Paul Lester. Receipt.
This is a copy of the receipt given to the buyer, dated October 11, 1900. The finished book would be delivered soon after November 1, 1900.
THE GREAT GALVESTON DISASTER. By Paul Lester. [no place]; [no publisher], [1900]. [222] pp. Decorated blue cloth over boards, about 1/2" thick. Title in gilt. Spine title example on rear board. Oval drawing on front board above title. Marbled page ends.
I believe this to be the first example of several different salesman's samples I have acquired. The oval illustration on the front cover is a drawing of men carrying a corpse to a funeral pyre. All the other examples of this book I have examined have a oval photograph. Also the interior has many pictures printed on one side of the paper only, leaving me to guess that the publisher was awaiting artwork from the island, and decided to rush this prospectus to his salemen in the field. This book has no title page, but I am unable to ascertain whether the publisher left it out, or whether it was torn or fell out. There are no blank pages at the rear for writing down orders. [Lester1]
THE GREAT GALVESTON DISASTER. By Paul Lester. Chicago, Illinois: Providence Publishing Co., (1900). [196, 16 blanks] pps. Decorated blue cloth over boards, about 1/2" thick. Title in gilt. Spine title example on rear board. Oval photograph on front board above title. Marbled page ends.
A different issue from the previous example, with a oval photograph of men carried a corpse rather then a drawing. Illustrations are printed on both sides of the pages. Title page is cancelled (stubbed or tipped in). [Lester2]
THE GREAT GALVESTON DISASTER. By Paul Lester. Beaver Springs, Pa.: American Publishing Co., (1900). 511 pps. Decorated blue cloth over boards, about 1 3/8" thick. Title in gilt on front board and spine. Oval photograph on front board above title. Marbled page ends.
This is what I consider the first full edition of this book, containing 511 pages. The other editions to follow will have more pages of material as the publisher saw fit to include. The photograph on the front cover is the same as the previous copy. Note that the publisher is different from the previous. The title page is cancelled or tipped in. All the variant copies I have of this book show the cancelled title page. The publisher probably wanted the local distributers to stamp their name on the title page for some reason. Perhaps it was an effort to make the customer think the book was locally produced. Originally priced at $1.50. [Lester3]
I have not found a copy of this book with 511 pages and bound in the deluxe red leatherette edition. But I feel that there is a copy out there waiting to be discovered. [Lester 4]
THE TRUE STORY OF THE GALVESTON FLOOD AS TOLD BY THE SURVIVORS. By Paul Lester. Philadelphia, Pa.: American Book and Bible House, (1900). [180, 16 blanks] pps. Decorated blue cloth over boards, about 1/2" thick. Title in gilt on front board and spine example on rear board.. Oval photograph on front board above title. Marbled page ends.
This copy and the following copy are problems. While the title and cover oval photograph (picturing a ruined church) are different from previous and later copies, the author and text are the same. The only other apparent difference is that a Charles A. Doe holds the Library of Congress copyright rather than Horace C. Fry on all the other copies. [Lester 5]
THE TRUE STORY OF THE GALVESTON FLOOD AS TOLD BY THE SURVIVORS. By Paul Lester. Philadelphia, Pa.: American Book and Bible House, (1900). 516 pps. Decorated blue cloth over boards, about 1 3/8" thick. Title in gilt on front board and spine. Oval photograph on front board above title. Marbled page ends.
The reason I placed this book into the list at this point is because the page count of 516 is larger then the previous edition [Lester 3] of 511 pages. This volume has an owners inscription stating that he purchased the book November 30, 1900. [Lester 6]
The publisher offered a copy with this title in the deluxe red leatherette edition, so I will hold this spot in anticipation of finding one in the future. [Lester 7]
THE GREAT GALVESTON DISASTER. By Paul Lester. [no place]: [no publisher], (1900). 516 pps. Decorated green cloth over boards, about 1 1/2" thick. Title in gilt on front board and spine. Oval photograph on front board above title. Marbled page ends.
With this variant, the book returns to the oval photograph of men carrying a corpse. The cloth color is different from all others, but this is not unusual as publishers were known to use whatever color was available at the time. [Lester 8]
THE GREAT GALVESTON DISASTER. By Paul Lester. [no place]: [no publisher], (1900). 516 pps. Blindstamped red leaherette over boards, about 1 1/2" thick. Title in gilt on front board and spine. Gilt edges.
A copy of the deluxe edition bound in "Morocco Grained Keratol" with gilt edges originally sold for $2.00. [Lester 9]
THE GREAT GALVESTON DISASTER. By Paul Lester. [no place]: [no publisher], (1900). 536 pps. Decorated blue cloth over boards, about 1 1/2" thick. Title in gilt on front board and spine. Oval photograph on front board above title. Marbled page ends.
This copy now has 536 pages, with the additional 20 pages containing a alphabetical list of the dead. [Lester 10]
THE GREAT GALVESTON DISASTER. By Paul Lester. [no place]: [no publisher], (1900). 536 pps. Blindstamped red leaherette over boards, about 1 1/2" thick. Title in gilt on front board and spine. Gilt edges.
A copy of the deluxe edition bound in "Morocco Grained Keratol" with gilt edges originally sold for $2.00. [Lester 11]