he began traveling around the world in 1874 and published "red-letter days abroad" in 1884. he turned his experiences into a series of popular lectures delivered throughout north america. these lectures were periodically published in book form as "john l. stoddard's lectures" and eventually numbered 10 volumes and five supplements (1897–1898). in 1901 stoddard published a book on gibraltar. the books include numerous illustrations derived from the immense catalog of photographs taken by stoddard, and cover every subject, from art and architecture, to archaeology and natural history. the books were immensely popular in their day and many copies still survive. later in life, stoddard also published poetry, as well as books on religious subjects.