[Gutenberg 33319] • Zigzag Journeys in Europe: Vacation Rambles in Historic Lands

The Zigzag Series sold in the millions and made Butterworth a "literary millionaire". As the story goes, Dana Estes of Estes and Lauriat approached Butterworth with a book written by Rodolphe Topffer -Voyages en Zig-Zag. This book, originally published in 1843, and its companion book Nouveaux Voyages en Zigzag, published posthumously in 1853, chronicled the adventures of Topffer and his students in Europe. Estes asked Butterworth if he could produce something along the same lines. Shortly thereafter, Hezekiah put together the plan. Master Lewis would take a group of Boys on a trip during a school vacation. Seventeen adventures later, Master Lewis and the group had seen most of the world. These stories were not as much travelogue as they were history, fairy tales, and folklore tales. As opposed to Topffer's illustrations, most of the Estes and Lauriat Zigzag pictures were from previously published books and their own files.

The Zigzag books were tremendously successful. Between 1879 and 1895, these 17 books sold hundreds of thousands of copies.