Brothers George and Charles Merriam (later joined by brother Homer) lived in Massachusetts where Professor Joseph Emerson Worcester published a dictionary (The Universal and Critical Dictionary of the English Language) that for one reason or another offended the brothers.

So they published their own dictionary, basing it on Noah Webster's original work. Thus began the "War of the Dictionaries" as each issued up-dates and revisions, trying to out-modernized the other until the American Civil War, when the Merriams issued their "Royal Quarto Edition" of the "American Dictionary of the English Language". Even Worcester could recognize it as a masterwork and he resigned from the battle.

Although they were now the sole compilers of a dictionary of the American Language, the Merriams had a new problem. Everywhere pirates were springing up. issuing their own "versions" of Merriam's dictionary. Repeatedly George and Charles sued to protect their copyright, but repeatedly they lost on the grounds that (a.) copyrights on dictionaries could not be renewed, and (b.) the name "Webster" could not be copyrighted. (Singer and Remington lost similar battles until copy-right laws were re-written.)

The Merriams, then, reasoned the only way they could stay ahead of the pirates was by issuing new dictionaries that made the pirated ones out-of-date.

In 1870(?), Merriam arranged with the American Book Company to do a school dictionary.

In 1890 they issued a new masterpiece, Webster's International Dictionary with 57,000 words never before found in a dictionary. THis clearly established in the minds of the American peole the superiority of the name of Merriam-Webster over all their imitators and pirates. It would remain unchallenged until Random House issued a new dictionary in the 1970's.

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Canadian George Munro, a professor of mathematics with a degree in theology, worked in New York as a common laborer in the stockroom of Beadle & Adams. His life in a rut, he overheard Beadle mock him for not trying to improve his social status. Munro quit to start his own "cheap book" publishing house.

By 1867, when he launched his "Fireside Comapanion", a cheap family paper, he was a serious competitor of his former employer.

Next, he began one of the most successful series in American publishing history: The Adventures of "Old Sleuth" by Harlan P. Halsey.

In 1877 he initiated "Seaside Library", imitative of Donnelly & Lloyd, quartos on cheap paper, two or three columns per page, 25075 pages, at 10 cents each.

"A New Title Every Day"...soon became most popular of the cheap libraries. Sample titles: East Lynne, John Halifax, Jane Eyre, Last Days of Pompeii, Adam Bede.

Munro drove his competitors out of business: Lakeside, Riverside, all died out.

"Deutsche Library" of German literature in a variety of languages. Very popular with growing numbers of German immigrants.

Things started to sour 1887. Munro cut prices in half but could not increase sales.

1890, he sold "The Seaside Library" to John Lovell for $30,000 plus $4,500 a month. Lovell raised the price to 25 cents each. Lovell defaulted 1892 and Munro took the series back.

Munro died 1896, a millionaire philanthroprist. His sons ran the firm with John Munro at the head.

Firm was liquidated in 1908.

See also Norman Munro...the brother who competed with George.

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Brother of George Munro, Norman worked for him until 1873 when he issued the New York Family Story Paper. This started a big feud with George who resented the competition. According to legend, the two men never spoke to each other after that.

Operating under his own name, Norman started, "Munro's Library" and "Munro's Pocket Magazine".

1876---A fire destroyed his building. 1877---He launched the "Riverside Library". The books were almost identical to George Munro's Seaside Library.

1879---Riverside Library was discontinued, unable to compete with more established series.

1884---Norman began "Munro Library". It did very well until George filed a law-suit against Norman. The courts ruled for Norman, claiming he had as much right to the name Munro as George did.

1888---Norman sold Munro Library (825 sets of plates and 1,500,000 books) to John Lovell for $250,000 and retired.

Following an appendectomy, Norman died in 1896, the same year his brother George died.

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Born in Scotland, McKay came to America with hsi parents and went to work at J.B. Lippincott & Co. as a bookseller in 1873. In 1881 he went to work for Rees Welsh, publisher of textbooks, as head of the miscellaneous and rare book retail store. He purchased the unsold copies of Whitman's Leaves of Grass from James Osgood & Co., which had withdrawn the book after censorship problems. But McKay stood behind it, threats of arrest not withstanding. He then purchased the paltes from Osgood and began publishing the book himself. This forged a very strong friendship with Whitman, who gave future manuscripts to McKay.

In 1885, McKay published a set of Shakespeare.

1888, McKay purchased H.C. Watts & Co., which had a substantial backlist.

1896, purchased Charles De Silver & Sons.

1896, purchased Edward Meeks & Co. Engineering Books.

1903, purchased American branch of London's George Routeledge & Sons.

1905, purchased Street & Smith children's line.

David McKay died in 1918. His sons, Alexander & John S. continued the firm until 1950 when the family sold it ot Quentin Bossi and Kenneth Rawson (who had been with Putnam's).

Alexander McKay and his son, David III, founded Bell Publishing Co. in 1949.

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The founder was a real life pirate, a sea captain, who retired at the age of 40 to pirate books.

His editions were artsy, high quality.

"English Reprint Series", offering works by Swinburne and Rossetti and others.

"Bibelot Series", 1893-1897.

"Reprints From the Bibelot", which introduced William Morris to American readers.

Admired by many, including Christopher Morley who thought Mosher had led an amazing and exciting life, Mosher died in 1923.

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Daniel David Merrill, with his father, D.D. Merrill, his brother, L.K. Merrill, and a friend, Francis E. Baker, published textbooks for the state of Minnesota.

In 1893, Merrill published Ridpath's History of the United States and tried to enter mainstream publishing.

In 1904 the firm filed bankruptcy, but it continued to publish Ridpath's history in a variety of formats and styles.

D.D. Merrill died in 1906.

Baker left the firm to become a U.S. Circuit Court Judge.

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