Visualizing 19th-Century New York Digital Publication

In 1855 Jacob Abbott wrote The Harper Establishment; or, How the Story Books Are Made, which describes and illustrates the machinations of the recently rebuilt Harper & Brothers factory. Although it presents an idealized view, this wood engraving gives a sense of the great scale of the space and the workforce, from the “great composing-room” on the seventh floor, where men stand setting type, to the predominantly female press operators on the first floor.

Conceived as a children’s book, The Harper Establishment nevertheless provided a great deal of information about Harper’s important role in book production and its growth. Indeed, in the preface, Abbott stressed that some technological intricacies could “only be appreciated by minds that have attained to some degree of maturity, and are accustomed to habits of careful and patient thought.”

— Martina D’Amato