19th Century American Children's Book Trade Directory

Based upon the unparalleled collection of Children's Literature held at the American Antiquarian Society, this comprehensive directory contains 2,600 entries documenting the activity of individuals and firms involved in the manufacture and distribution of childrens books in the United States chiefly between 1821 and 1876. Nationally known firms such as McLoughlin Bros. and non-profit publishers like the American Sunday-School Union are included, as well as prominent educational pioneers such as Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, Samuel Griswold Goodrich, and William Bentley Fowle. The directory also reflects the dynamic growth of childrens book production in the major publishing centers of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia--as well as in regional markets such as Rochester, Mobile, Atlanta, Cincinnati, and San Francisco. In short, the Directory documents both a book industry and an American childrens literature that are coming of age in the midst of stunning technological advances, sweeping social change, and great economic upheaval. The main file (accessed through the Download button to the right) includes name, dates of operation, and address. Other files are as indicated. In toto, the files include: Heading (name of person or firm), Street address, City, State (two-digit postal code), Country (countries outside of the United States; used to document people/firms operating in both the United States and another country such as England); Chronological Date Range of Street Addresses; Role, and Notes. "Role" refers to the following terms: Agent Amateur printer Amateur publisher Binder Binding designer Bookseller Copperplate printer Editor Electrotyper Engraver Games publisher Importer Ink maker Lithographer Lithotyper (Stereotyper) Paper dealer Paper manufacturer Printer Publisher Self-publisher Stationer Stereotyper Wholesale bookseller The Note index file contains more information about the entry, such as dates of books issued by the individual/firm that are held at the American Antiquarian Society. This information is particularly useful to track the activity of persons and firms operating in towns and smaller cities for which no published street directory could be located. The Note index also includes citations to published sources about the individual or firm whenever available. As many of these individuals and firms indexed also manufactured and distributed books for adults, the Directory will prove to be a crucial resource for researchers, collectors, book dealers, and virtually anyone seeking a better understanding of American publishing during the nineteenth century. To search the dataset and for more information, consult the AAS Introduction to the collection.

This dataset is a part of the Magazine of American Datasets (MEAD). To view more of the collection, visit https://repository.upenn.edu/exhibits/orgunit/mead.