• Title: Mulvaney Stories
• Author: Rudyard Kipling
• Publisher: Henry Altemus, Philadelphia
• Estimated year of printing: 1898

Notes: 

Inscription: M. Leo Clark (?)

Mulvaney Stories is a collection of short stories by Kipling (1865 – 1936) featuring the character Private Terence Mulvaney, first introduced in The Three Musketeers (not to be confused with the novel of the same name by Alexander Dumas).  Kipling’s The Three Musketeers was first published in 1887, with Mulvaney as one of the three main characters, who would go on to feature in many more stories by Kipling.  The stories are all set in India and follow the adventures of three soldiers serving in the British Army.

The publisher, Henry Altemus, was in operation from 1842 until 1936, and over that time reprinted many, many literary works in hundreds of different editions.  The bindings changed so frequently, that they can be used to very precisely date a particular copy.  This cover belongs to their Vademecum series, and was only used in 1898, with several different colors .

Rudyard Kipling was born in British India, which inspired much of his work, but over the course of his life would live all over the world, including Vermont.  His best known novel is The Jungle Book, published in 1894.

Historical context:

When this book was published in 1898, William McKinley was President of the United States.  This year saw the entirety of the Spanish-American War — starting with the sinking of the USS Maine in February, and ending with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in December, which granted the United States ownership of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, and gave Cuba independence.