Ten-year-old Ben Brandon has run away from his home in Cedarville, Pennsylvania after his father has punished him for something he did not do. He survives on the streets of New York City by becoming a newsboy and a "luggage-smasher," making enough money to return home six years later as a prosperious young entrepeneur.

In publishing "Ben, the Luggage Boy," Alger said that it is in all essential points a true history, the particulars of the story having been communicated to him by Ben himself. In particular, the circumstances surrounding the boy's running away from home and adopting the life of a street boy, are in strict accordance with Ben's own statement. Included in this Illustrated Edition of the 1870 version of "Ben, the Luggage Boy" are all five original illustrations, rejuvenated, and 10 additional, illustrations of New York City are unique to this edition of the book.

"How much yer made this mornin', Ben?" "Nary red," answered Ben, composedly. "Had yer breakfast?" "Only an apple. That's all I've eaten since yesterday. It's most time for the train to be in from Philadelphy. I'm layin' round for a job." The first speaker was a short, freckled-faced boy, whose box strapped to his back identified him at once as a street boot-black. His hair was red, his fingers defaced by stains of blacking, and his clothing constructed on the most approved system of ventilation. He appeared to be about twelve years old. The boy whom he addressed as Ben was taller, and looked older. He was probably not far from sixteen. His face and hands, though browned by exposure to wind and weather, were several shades cleaner than those of his companion. His face, too, was of a less common type. It was easy to see that, if he had been well dressed, he might readily have been taken for a gentleman's son. But in his present attire there was little chance of this mistake being made. His pants, marked by a green stripe, small around the waist and very broad at the hips, had evidently once belonged to a Bowery swell; for the Bowery has its swells as well as Broadway, its more aristocratic neighbor.

Young Ben runs away from home after a conflict with his father and lives on the streets of New York City for years, but his mother still hopes to see him again.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

In presenting "Ben, the Luggage Boy," to the public, as the fifth of the Ragged Dick Series, the author desires to say that it is in all essential points a true history; the particulars of the story having been communicated to him, by Ben himself, nearly two years since. In particular, the circumstances attending the boy's running away from home, and adopting the life of a street boy, are in strict accordance with Ben's own statement. While some of the street incidents are borrowed from the writer's own observation, those who are really familiar with the different phases which street life assumes in New York, will readily recognize their fidelity.