Joseph J. Myler dime novel collection, 1860-1993 (bulk 1877-1918)

This collection represents the dime novel collection of Joseph J. Myler, Hobart College class of 1919 and member of the Board of Trustees. Series I-III comprise the original donation made by Joseph Myler's son Gene Myler ca. 2007. Series IV contains a portion of Myler's dime novel collection that had been given to St. John Fisher College sometime before 1960. In the summer of 2012 these two collections were reunited when the J.J. Myler Collection from St. John Fisher College was donated to the Warren Hunting Smith Library.

Series I contains approximately 922 issues of Beadle's Half Dime Library published between 1877 and 1905 by Beadle and Adams Publishers of New York. Each issue is 16 pages and has a woodcut illustration on the cover. Most also have a title and an alternative title, such as "Ralph Boy, The Boy Buccaneer; Or, The Fugitive Yacht."

Series II contains supporting material including correspondence to and from Joseph Myler about dime novels and collecting, two books on dime novels, articles, and issues of the magazine Dime Novel Round-up.

Series III contains 44 issues of the Dime Novel Club, which are facsimile reprints of earlier dime novels. The Dime Novel Club reprinted 73 dime novels between 1945 and 1960.

Series IV contains the J.J. Myler Collection from St. John Fisher College. This collection is further divided into subseries based on publication title. The subseries are:

a. New Buffalo Bill Weekly, 1912-1918: A set of 149 issues of New Buffalo Bill Weekly, published by Street & Smith Publishers of New York. These date from 1912-1918 and feature stories about Colonel William Cody (1846-1917), better known as Buffalo Bill.

b. Beadle's Half Dime Library - Deadwood Dick novels, 1877-1897: The Deadwood Dick novels written by Edward L. Wheeler and published by Beadle and Adams Publishers, New York, as part of the Beadle's Half Dime Library. There are 71 novels in this series and they date from 1877-1897 and feature the popular character Deadwood Dick. These novels were bound together as a set when first received.

c. Beadle's Half Dime Library - bound set, 1879-1908: A set of 31 issues of Beadle's Half Dime Library, dating from 1879-1908, published by Beadle and Adams Publishers of New York. These novels are bound together in a set which is located in Box 6. The novels are not bound in any particular order, and they range from Vol. 4 to Vol. 48 of the Beadle's Half Dime Library series. The Beadle's Half Dime Library novels are 16 pages long and originally cost $0.05 each.

d. Beadle's New York Dime Library, 1878-1905: This series contains 365 issues of Beadle's New York Dime Library, published by Beadle and Adams Publishers of New York. These novels are 32 pages long and originally cost $0.10 each. They date from 1878-1905.

e. Tip Top Weekly, 1902-1910: A set of 78 novels in the Tip Top Weekly series, dating from 1902-1910. These novels were published by Street & Smith Publishers of New York. They are primarily school and sport adventure stories about Frank Merriwell and his brother Dick Merriwell. The subtitle for the Tip Top Weekly series is "An Ideal Publication for the American Youth."

f. New Tip Top Weekly, 1913-1914: This series contains 26 issues of New Tip Top Weekly, published by Street & Smith Publishers of New York, dating from 1913-1914. New Tip Top Weekly was a continuation of Tip Top Weekly and featured many of the same characters. The issues of New Tip Top Weekly in this collection all feature Frank Merriwell's son, Frank Jr.

g. Miscellaneous publications, 1860-1936: Contains a number of dime novels from the St. John Fisher Collection that were not bound in sets and were not part of the larger series described above. These miscellaneous publications include either single issues from a series or in some cases 2-3 issues. Series include Old Broadbrim Weekly, Work and Win, Wide Awake Library, Blue and Gray Weekly, Old Sleuth Library, Wild West Weekly, Three Chums, The Liberty Boys of '76, Log Cabin Library, and more. The miscellaneous series also contains 10 of the earliest novels, the Beadle's Dime Novels, dating from 1860-1871.

h. Joseph J. Myler's writings on dime novels, ca. 1941