—The business of this firm was begun by Mr. A. S. Barnes about 1837 at Hartford, Conn., but soon moved to Philadelphia, Pa., where the title of the firm was changed to A. S. Barnes & Burr, Mr. Burr being a brother-in-law of Mr. Barnes. A few years later the business was moved to 51 John Street, New York City. The name of Burr disappeared from the firm early in its New York days, and the title became A. S. Barnes & Company. After a few years at 51 John Street, the business was moved to 111–113 William Street, where it remained until 1890, when the textbook publications were purchased by the American Book Company. During the period between the establishment of the business in New York and 1890, Mr. Barnes took in as partners, in the order named, his son Alfred C. Barnes, Henry W. Curtis, Charles J. Barnes, a nephew, and Henry B. Barnes, Edwin M. Barnes, Richard S. Barnes, and William D. Barnes, all sons of A. S. Barnes. At the time of the sale of the business to the American Book Company, the partners of the firm consisted of the five sons of A. S. Barnes, and Charles J. Barnes of Chicago.
In 1837, Mr. A. S. Barnes published a series of mathematical books written by Professor Charles Davies. Other well-known publications of the house were Monteith’s Geographies, Barnes’ Histories, Parker and Watson’s Readers, Barnes’ Readers, Steele’s Science Series, and Maxwell’s Grammars.
CHARLES E. MERRILL COMPANY.
—Mr. Merrill writes:
“It appears that the original house was founded by William G. Webster, a son of Dr. Noah Webster, author of the Dictionary, and Lucius E. Clark, a farmer’s son who was born at Washington, Conn., July 4, 1814. They began business under the name of Webster & Clark in 1842. A few years later Mr. Webster retired and Mr. Clark, associated with Jeremiah B. Austin of Wallingford, Conn., continued the business under the name of Clark & Austin. Soon afterward Cornelius Smith of W. B. Smith & Co. of Cincinnati became a partner and the firm name was changed to Clark, Austin & Smith. In 1859, Mr. Smith died and the firm was reorganized under the name of Clark, Austin, Maynard & Company, Effingham Maynard and Livingston Snedeker being admitted to partnership.
“The Civil War, beginning two years later, brought disaster to the firm. A large amount of money due from Southern customers was uncollectable and after a desperate struggle to hold over, a compromise with its creditors became necessary. After obtaining releases from creditors, the business was resumed in 1863 by Clark & Maynard, whose careful and efficient management enabled them in 1872 to pay in full, principal and interest, all the debts from which the firm of Clark, Austin, Maynard & Company had been released. Their most notable contributions to textbook publishing were the Anderson Historical Series and the Reed & Kellogg Grammars.
“Mr. Clark retired from business at the close of 1888, and Mr. Maynard, with Mr. Everett Yeaw of Lawrence, Mass., continued the business under the firm name of Effingham Maynard & Company. In 1893, the firm consolidated with that of Charles E. Merrill & Company, consisting of Charles E. Merrill and Edwin C. Merrill, the resulting organization being incorporated under the name of Maynard, Merrill & Company. Its officers were Effingham Maynard, Charles E. Merrill, Everett Yeaw, and Edwin C. Merrill. Mr. Maynard died in 1899. Mr. Charles E. Merrill bought the Maynard interest from the two sons of Mr. Maynard, and the name of the corporation was changed to Charles E. Merrill Company. In 1910 Mr. Yeaw, now the head of Newson & Company, retired from the organization, which was joined a few years later by Mr. Edwin W. Fielder. The present officers are Charles E. Merrill, President, Charles E. Merrill, Jr., Vice President, Halsey M. Collins, Secretary, and Edwin W. Fielder, Treasurer. These officers, with Harold S. Brown, are the directors.”
IVISON, BLAKEMAN, TAYLOR & COMPANY.
—Mr. Henry Ivison, a bookseller at Auburn, N. Y., came to New York City in 1846 and was admitted to the firm of Mark H. Newman & Company. In 1852, a new partnership for three years was founded under the firm name of Newman & Ivison, but the senior partner died before the end of the first year, leaving the business entirely in Mr. Ivison’s hands. Mr. Ivison later bought out the entire interest of the concern and took in as a partner H. F. Phinney of Cooperstown, N. Y., an experienced bookseller and son-in-law of J. Fenimore Cooper. In 1866, Mr. Phinney’s health failed and Messrs. Birdseye Blakeman, Augustus C. Taylor, and Mr. Ivison’s eldest son, David B., were admitted to the firm, which was continued under the name of Ivison, Phinney, Blakeman & Co. Subsequently, on the withdrawal of Mr. Phinney, the firm name was changed to Ivison, Blakeman, Taylor & Co. Mr. Ivison retired from the firm in 1881. In 1890, the business of this concern was purchased by the American Book Company.
In Ivison & Company’s Almanac for the year 1847 are found advertisements of Porter’s Rhetorical Reader, Newman’s Rhetoric and Elements of Political Economy, Day and Thomson’s Series of Practical Arithmetic, Sanders’ School Readers, Wilson’s Histories of the United States, Bradbury & Sanders’ Young Choir or School Singing Book, Gray’s Elements of Chemistry, and Hitchcock’s Elementary Geology.