Five Little Peppers
by Margaret Sidney (Harriet Mulford Stone)
Published by D. Lothrop & Co./ D. Lothrop Co./ Lothrop Publishing Co.
| 1. Five Little Peppers and How They Grew | (Copyright 1880 D. Lothrop & Co.) | Illustrated by Hermann Heyer |
| 2. Five Little Peppers Midway | (Copyright 1890 D. Lothrop Company) | Illustrated by W. L. Taylor |
| 3. Five Little Peppers Grown Up | (Copyright 1892 D. Lothrop Company) | Illustrated by Mente |
| 4. Phronsie Pepper | (Copyright 1897 Lothrop Publishing Company) | Illustrated by Jessie McDermott |
| 5. Stories that Polly Pepper Told | (Copyright 1899 Lothrop Publishing Company) | Illustrated by Jessie McDermott and Etheldred B. Barry |
| 6. Adventures of Joel Pepper | (Copyright 1900 Lothrop Publishing Company) | Illustrated by Sears Gallagher |
| 7. Five Little Peppers Abroad | (Copyright 1902 Lothrop Publishing Company) | Illustrated by Fanny Y. Cory |
| 8. Five Little Peppers at School | (Copyright 1903 Lothrop Publishing Company) | Illustrated by Hermann Heyer |
| 9. Five Little Peppers and Their Friends | (Copyright 1904 Lothrop Publishing Company) | Illustrated by Eugenie Wireman |
| 10. Ben Pepper | (Copyright 1905 Lothrop Publishing Company) | Illustrated by Eugenie M. Wireman |
| 11. Five Little Peppers in the Little Brown House | (Copyright 1907 Lothrop, Lee & Shepard) | |
| 12. Our Davie Pepper | (Copyright 1916 Lothrop, Lee & Shepard) | Illustrated by Alice Barber Stephens |
Book #1 was published initially by D. Lothrop & Co. The first
editions of books #2 and #3 were published by D. Lothrop Company.
The first editions of books # 4-10 were published by Lothrop
Publishing Company. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard published the first
editions of books #11 and #12.
The first edition of the "Five Little Peppers and How they Grew"
notes 1880 on the copyright page. Later editions have 1881 on the
copyright page. Also the first edition has several points not found on
later 1880 copyrighted books.
1. The caption on the picture on p.231 notes "said Polly" not "said
Phronsie".
2. Advertisements at the back of the book do not mention a contest.
3. The & in the publisher's monogram on the cover is in gold.
Later editions are not in gold.
The first editions of the other books can be determined by the fact that the book does not Notre how many thousands have been sold.
Format 1: Volumes 1-6
Cloth. Orange/gold, Blue, and green seen.
It appears that the titles #1-3 which were published by D. Lothrop
Company have the "&" not in gold whereas the D. Lothrop & Co.
title #1 has the "&" in gold. See examples below.
  |
 |
Note the two different publisher's monograms. On the left the monogram
has “&” but it is not in gold (D. Lothrop Company). The book below
on the right has the monogram for Lothrop Publishing Company.
 |
 |
Format 2a Volumes 1-10 (#7-10 are first editions in this format.)
Cloth. Green. Gilt lettering with a cover picture of the Pepper
family. 7.625" x 5.25"
The books published by the Lothrop Publishing Company (and the very
early 1905 Lothrop, Lee & Shepard volumes have different color
outfits from the later Lothrop, Lee & Shepard books (1905 until at
least 1916) The five children are on a pebbled pathway and the girls
have grey dresses in this earlier format.
Format 2b Volumes 1-12 (First editions of #11, 12) 1905-1916
The later Lothrop, Lee & Shepard books have a young girl in a
polka dot dress and a boy in a red jacket. The polka dot dress/red
jacket version was used for the first editions of #11 and #12 and
reprints of #1-10.
Later Lothrop, Lee & Shepard books have gilt lettering and even later only black lettering with the outfits of the children now in black. Both of these versions have the same picture of the five Peppers on the cover.
 |
 |
First editions of #11, #12
 |
 |
Latest Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Format 2 book.
 |
Four "Five Little Peppers and How They Grew" books that were not part
of the series have been seen.
A clothbound green book with a floral pattern and silver gilt
lettering. 6.5" x 4.25" (published by Lothrop Publishing Company and
Lothrop, Lee & Shepard is shown below.
This same format with black lettering colored flowers and one only in
black have also been seen published by Lothrop, Lee & Shepard.
 |
 |
 |
Three board books were also published. An early edition (but after the
first edition) was printed by D. Lothrop & Co.
 |
Two later illuminated board books were printed by Lothrop Publishing
Company.
 |
 |