In 1758 Christopher Sower was succeeded by his son, Christopher Sower, 2nd, and he by his son, Samuel. In 1799 another son, David, Sr., took charge of the business. In 1842 Charles G., son of David, Jr., succeeded his father. In 1888, 150 years after the founding, the firm was incorporated as the Christopher Sower Company, with Charles D. Sower as President. In 1910 the officers were: Albert M. Sower, President; James L. Pennypacker, Vice President; Daniel B. Hassan, Secretary and Treasurer.
LITTLE, BROWN & COMPANY, INC.
—This business began as a retail store started by Ebenezer Battelle in Boston in 1784. Four years later the concern issued its first book and became a publisher in the strict sense of the word. From 1784 to 1913 there was a succession of partners entering and leaving the organization, and in the early days the name of the house was changed frequently, according to the changes in partnership. The name of Little & Brown was adopted in 1830, when James Brown and Charles C. Little owned the business. James Brown may more truly be called the founder of the present house than any other one man. In 1898 Little, Brown & Company absorbed the successful publishing firm of Roberts Brothers of Boston, thereby securing a large miscellaneous line, including the works of Louisa Alcott. In 1913 the house was incorporated as Little, Brown & Company, Inc., without change in the personnel of the organization.
The present educational enterprise of this company was started in May, 1904, and the first two schoolbooks of the present list were a school edition of The Man Without a Country, and the series known as the Wide Awake Readers. Little, Brown & Company are known as the publishers of Bancroft’s History of the United States, also of Daniel Webster’s works.
BENZIGER BROTHERS.
—This firm was founded in 1792 in Einsiedeln, Switzerland, by Joseph Charles Benziger. In 1883, he was succeeded by his sons, Charles and Nicholas Benziger.
In 1853, the New York house was founded. J. N. Adelrich Benziger, a son of Charles, and Louis, a son of Nicholas, took charge of the New York house. The American firm is now entirely independent of its parent house in Switzerland. In 1860 a branch house was opened in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1880, Nicholas C. Benziger became a partner. His father, Nicholas, was a partner in Einsiedeln, and was the son of Nicholas mentioned above. In 1887, a branch house was opened in Chicago. In 1894, Louis G. Benziger, son of Louis, became a partner, retiring in 1914. In 1912 Xavier N. Benziger, and in 1919 Bernard A. Benziger, both sons of Nicholas C., became partners.
This firm has been publishing schoolbooks since 1860. From 1874 to 1877 the Gilmour Readers were published. The Catholic National Readers were brought out in the years 1889–1894. The New Century Catholic Readers were issued from 1903 to 1905. The house has also published a History of the United States in two volumes, an Elementary Geography, Advanced Geography, and two series of Arithmetics.
The present partners of the firm are Nicholas C. Benziger and his sons, Xavier N. and Bernard A. Benziger.