Boy's and Girl's Library

Boy's and girl's library of useful and entertaining knowledge was an American literary book series intended for young readers first published in 1833 by the New York publisher J. & J. Harper, founded by brothers James Harper and John Harper. Subsequently volumes of the series were published into the 1890s.

Introduction

As the other famous series of the publisher – the Family Library and the School District Library – it was published since the 1830s, “at the dawn of mass-market publishing”.
As devout Methodists, the Harper brothers promoted reading as a means of moral uplift. As prominent publishers and key figures in the widespread religious and social reform movements of the era, they played a significant role in shaping education in American homes and schools. Most of the works were moralistic, didactic fiction. Besides original literatury, it contains also translations, for example The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss, translated for the German. Many of the volumes were written by the American writer, historian, educator and priest of the Episcopal Church Francis L. Hawks, using the pseudonym "Uncle Philip".

Volumes

The volumes are :

1. Lives of the Apostles and Early Martyrs of the Church – by Anonymous
2–3. Swiss Family Robinson – by Johann David Wyss
4. Sunday Evening – by Uncle Philip
5. Son of a Genius – by Mrs. Barbara Hofland
6. Natural History; or, Uncle Philip's Conversations – by Anonymous
7–8. Indian Traits – by Benjamin B. Thatcher
9–11. Tales from American History
12. Young Crusoe – by Mrs. Barbara Hofland
13. Sunday Evenings Vol. 2 – by Uncle Philip
14. Perils of the Sea – by Anonymous
15. Female Biography – by an American Lady
16. Caroline Westerly – by Anonymous
17. Clergyman's Orphan – by Anonymous
18. Sunday Evenings Vol. 3 – by Uncle Philip
19. Ornaments Discovered – by Mary Hughs
20. Uncle Philip’s Christianity
21. Uncle Philip’s Virginia
22. American Forest Uncle Philip on Trees
23–24. Uncle Philip’s New York
25. Revolutionary Tales – by Benjamin B. Thatcher
26–27. Uncle Philip's Whale Fishery and Polar Seas
28. Uncle Philip’s Conversations about Lost Greenland
29–30. Uncle Philip’s Massachusetts
31–32. Uncle Philip’s New Hampshire

Literature

Robert S. Freeman: "Harper and Brothers Family and School District Libraries, 1830–1846", in: , herausgegeben von Robert S. Freeman, David M. Hovde. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2003, pp. 26-49
Eugene Exman: The Brothers Harper: A Unique Publishing Partnership and its Impact Upon the Cultural Life of America from 1817 to 1853. 1965
Joseph Henry Harper: The House of Harper: A Century of Publishing in Franklin Square. Harper & brothers, 1912