Hammond's Hard Lines is a children's novel written by Scottish educationist John Adams (under the pen name of Skelton Kuppord), with illustrations by Harold Copping.
[3] Tom experiences mishaps with every further wish he makes: An escape to the woods sees him barefoot and bruised there during midnight; expunging Virgil from existence sends his school scrambling to find the Roman poet's works in their premises; and during a trip aboard a ship, he ends up as a stowaway.
[8] Hammond's was published in November 1894[1] as part of Blackie & Son's Half-Crown Series,[8] and was popular enough to receive a reissue in late 1901;[5][11] a reprint occurred in 1942 after the author's death.
Upon its original publication, an uncredited writer for The Sunday School of London predicted of Hammond's Hard Lines, "I have little doubt the small children will enjoy this book beyond all the others on the list this week [of 22 November 1894].
a very diverting amalgam of a fairy tale and an ordinary story of schoolboy life, which little boys at school will find both interesting and instructive.
[13]At the start of 1895, The Queenslander of Australia concurred with The Standard, adding that the accounts of Hammond's later exploits made the story "exciting".