Dan Weiskotten's Answer (originally compiled 12/5/1998, but continuously revised with the latest revision 2/15/2002):
I have been working on a history of the Cazenovia Publishers, and, while my research is far from complete, I can put together a little bit of history for you. I found the very same text at a flea market ($10.00!) down here in Richmond, VA. It was inscribed as "Elisha L. Bradley's Book, Fenner, Madison County, NY" and I think it may have been among the thousands sent south after the civil war by the Freedmen's Society or other social education / literary groups that were active then. A few years ago I bought a number of other books (not Cazenovia Published) from the estate of Elisha L. Bradley's grandson, George Bradley, and it is nice to have an even older book come to me through such convoluted circumstances and in such a far away place. (George's father was Elisha R. Bradley).
So far I have identified 11 different firms that published books in Cazenovia before 1860. From these publishing houses (all seem to be a succession of earlier partnerships) I have identified 27 different works from 15 different authors or compilers. Nearly all of the known works from these printers and binders are school books, but five are yearly almanacs and it is said that a book on Catholicism was published. Several books were by authors who had been residents of Cazenovia or who had family ties to the community and the publishers such as Alvin Foord, Orlando Blanchard, Charles Dudley Warner, Charles Severance, Noah Webster, and perhaps Moses Severance and Charles Boardman!
Although a newspaper had been printed in Cazenovia since 1808 (they also printed various broadsides and pamphlets over the years), and there had been a book store as early as 1814, it was not until 1833 when the first known books were printed in Cazenovia. There was a close relationship between the early newspaper and book publishers, with Sylvanus Henry the book publisher, marrying a daughter (Sarah Baker) and joining in partnership with a son (Hiram Baker) of Oran E. Baker, Cazenovia's first newspaper printer. Over the next three decades the firms that published books in Cazenovia were a succession of partnerships evolving out of Sylvanus Henry's establishment. A strictly book publishing concern was present in Cazenovia well into the 1870s. Many people were associated with S.H. Henry and the succeeding publishers over the years, so the list of folks who could call themselves "Cazenovia Publishers" is quite long and growing with each day of research.
I have several Cazenovia-published titles in my own library, there are some at the Cazenovia Library, and more with the Town Historian. Besides these sources I have scoured around to larger libraries across the country, in many avenues of the Internet, and have checked known titles in the National Union Catalog and the Shaw & Shoemaker, Shoemaker, Rinderknecht, and Rorbach Checklist of Imprints ...
Some of the authors wrote many texts: Charles W. Davies in particular, wrote many texts, but only one, his Mental and Practical Arithmetic, was published in Cazenovia. Charles W. Sanders, the author of the famous Sanders series of text books, had only two works, a speller and a reader published in Cazenovia. Many of the Cazenovia books were also published by others, so be sure that you check not only the title but the publisher.
While most of the Cazenovia-published texts were stereotyped and published by other printers across the northeast and midwest, there are several texts which were actually written by Cazenovians. Orlando Blanchard was a professor of mathematics at the Cazenovia Seminary and wrote several math texts in the 1850s; Charles Severance, who is said to have published a book on Catholicism (I have not yet found this text), was a member of the large Severance family of Cazenovia, and it appears that Moses Severance, who wrote two English lesson books in the early 1830s, was also a part of that family.
Perhaps the most famous of the mid-19th century Cazenovia connected authors was Charles Dudley Warner (1829-1900), a renown essayist, editor, and novelist. Warner, who moved to Cazenovia in 1841 and lived with his mother at his uncle's house (none other than Cazenovia Publisher Simon C. Hitchcock!), was a student at Cazenovia Seminary until 1845. In his uncle's shop young Charles learned to set type and learn various aspects of the publishing business. After Cazenovia he went on to Hamilton College where he graduated in 1851 and in that same year he published several of his oratories in a book titled The Book of Eloquence .... This text became one of the most widely used college texts in late-19th century America and appeared in many editions well into the 20th century. His appreciation for his uncle's support through the years of his youth is shown in the dedication of his first book, and this dedication was carried through the many editions for over 50 years. This was the first of many formal publications (he had been writing articles for the Knickerbocker Magazine for some time) and it seems to have been the only one of his works published in Cazenovia. In later years Warner went on to become one of the most famous American authors of his time. Warner coined the phrase "Everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it," was for a time editor of the Hartford Courant, and he was the co-author of Mark Twain's first novel, The Gilded Age, a Tale of To-day, as well as the sole author of many other famous works. I can just see the starving student, young Charles Dudley Warner, trying to support his widowed mother and pay his education expenses, slaving over the printing presses of his uncle's publishing shop right on Albany Street (I think it was on Albany Street), Cazenovia, NY! The Hartford Courant has a wonderful biography of Warner on their web pages.
There are also several interesting familial connections between authors, publishers, and Cazenovia. It is interesting to note that the well known Noah Webster, whose Elementary Spelling Book was published in Cazenovia in the 1830s and 1840s, was the cousin of Eliphalet S. Jackson who was a prominent early settler and merchant in Cazenovia. Webster's book was published by S.H. Henry & Co. in 1836 and by Henry, Hitchcock, & Co. in 1841, and it should be added here that Simon C. Hitchcock, of the Cazenovia publishing firm of Henry, Hitchcock, & Co., had married Jackson's daughter and was thus the second cousin of Noah Webster!!!!! (Oh, so many great stories that await to be told! Some day I'll unravel the true story of Lambert Hitchcock [of chair making fame] marrying Mary Ann Preston in Cazenovia in August 1836!!)
It is clear that familial connections were immensely important in Cazenovia's small publishing industry - and that Cazenovia was connected to some pretty important 19th century authors!
Cazenovia also has a plethora of newspaper printers in the first half of the 19th century, but besides ephemeral religious tracts, catalogs, broadsides, and other forms of Job Printing, they seem to have stayed away from actual book publishing. Seneca Lake, who published The Cazenovia Republican from 1854 to 1862, Fred M. Taylor, who did the same from 1877 to 1889, and James A. Loyster, ditto, 1890 to 1903, published a few bound books to supplement their income but their primary trade was as newspaper men.
The books were not printed in the old-fashioned Ben Franklin way, but through the process of stereotyping with individual lead plates made from a master. These plates, of the whole pages, were manufactured by shops in NYC and elsewhere and were sent out to small publishing firms across the country, including nearby Utica, Cooperstown, Ithaca, Waterloo, Pulaski, Cortlandville, Elmira, Oxford, Batavia, Sandy Hill, Rochester, ... &c, where the actual book was printed and bound. A number of years ago a friend of mine found a box of old plates in the creek near the lumber yard, but I was a kid then and don't remember what the text was about. Cazenovia also had several other manufactories that supported the publishing industry: Sweetlands Paper Mill produced all varieties of paper for many decades, beginning in 1810, and Levi Swan made Book Binder's Boards in the 1860s and 1870s.
I hope this gives you some idea of the setting in which your book originated.
It is far from a complete history of the fascinating story of Cazenovia's
Publishers, but it is more than has been known previously. I am still
tracking down sources and waiting for studies of similar businesses in
other communities, so I expect to be able to write more about this in the
near future.
Here is the dedication by Charles
Dudley Warner's first book in 1851,
to his uncle Simon C. Hitchcock,
a Cazenovia Publisher:
A Preliminary List of Cazenovia Publishers and Publications
(I have many more notes to add and compile)
(Many of these titles, as well as other works by the same authors,
were also published by other firms which were not in Cazenovia)
Anonymous
Davies, Charles
Severance, Moses
Blake, John Lauris
Foord, Alvin, MD
Warner, Charles Dudley
Blanchard, Orlando
Murray, Lindley
Webster, Noah
Boardman, Charles
Perkins, George R.
Wright, Albert D.
Cobb, Lyman
Sanders, Charles W.
Book of Eloquence ... (Warner)
New Spelling Book in Six Parts ...
(Cobb)
Common School Arithmetic ... (Blanchard)
New Speller, Definer, and Analyzer
... (Sanders)
Elements of the English Language ...
(Orthography) (Wright)
Phinney's Calendar or Western Almanac
... (Perkins)
Elementary Spelling Book ... (Webster)
Phonological Chart ... (Wright)
English Reader ... (Murray)
Pictorial Primer ... (Sanders)
Family Almanac and Franklin Reader ...
(Perkins)
Primary School Reader ... (Sanders)
First Lessons in Mental and Written Arithmetic
... (Blanchard)
Reader ... (Sanders)
Foord's New York and Western Almanac
for the year ... (Foord)
Spelling Book ... (Sanders)
High School Arithmetic ... (Blanchard)
Tables of Interest ... (Blanchard)
Improved Pocket Dictionary ... (Boardman)
Theoretical and Practical Arithmetic ...
(Blanchard)
Juvenile Reader No. 3 ... (Cobb)
Western Almanac for ... 1836, 1837, 1838
(Anonymous)
Key to Blanchard's Arithmetic ...
(Blanchard)
Wonders of the Earth ... (Blake)
Mental and Practical Arithmetic ... (Davies)
Wonders of the Ocean ... (Blake)
New Series of Readers ...
(Sanders)
CAZENOVIA
PUBLISHERS
This needs to be added (sorry!)
ALL DATA
(some entries are for titles as
advertised in other texts)
Anonymous
Western Almanac for ... 1836 ...
(1835) Henry & Severance, Cazenovia, NY
Western Almanac for
... 1837 ... (see illustration below)
(1836) S.H. Henry & Co., Cazenovia, NY (also
by Henry & Severance, Cazenovia, NY?)
Western Almanac for ...
1838 ...
(1837) Henry & Severance, Cazenovia, NY
Blake, John
Lauris (1788 to 1857)
Wonders
of the Earth ...
1845 Henry & Sweetlands, Cazenovia, NY
1849 Mills, Crandall & Moseley, Cazenovia, NY
1855 advertised by Crandall & Moseley, Cazenovia,
NY
Wonders of the Ocean ... (entered 1845)
1845 Henry & Sweetlands, Cazenovia, NY
1849 Mills, Crandall & Moseley, Cazenovia, NY
Blanchard,
Orlando ( -
)
(Professor of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at Cazenovia Seminary
from 1834-1840. The 1875 First Fifty Years of Cazenovia Seminary,
1824-1875 (:90) had this to say about him: Orlando Blanchard,
an associate teacher, was a genius. He taught mathematics and the
English branches. He Published "Blanchard's Arithmetic." He
was an enthusiastic astronomer, skilled in mechanics, arts, and at home
in chemistry. He built organs, constructed a sidereal clock, taught
music, lived a bachelor, and was not partial to the ladies, and not particularly
admired by them, except as a teacher. He subsequently went to Fairfield
Academy.)
Tables of Interest and Discount ...
1851 Crandall & Moseley, Cazenovia, NY
1858 advertised by Charles Crandall, Cazenovia, NY
1859 advertised by Charles Crandall, Cazenovia, NY
First Lessons in Mental and Written Arithmetic ...
1854 Crandall & Moseley, Cazenovia, NY
/ Leavitt & Allen, New York, NY
1855 advertised by Crandall & Moseley, Cazenovia,
NY
1858 advertised by Charles Crandall, Cazenovia, NY
1859 advertised by Charles Crandall, Cazenovia, NY
Common School Arithmetic ...
1855 advertised by Crandall & Moseley, Cazenovia,
NY
1858 advertised by Charles Crandall, Cazenovia, NY
1859 advertised by Charles Crandall, Cazenovia, NY
High School Arithmetic ... (©1852)
1855 sold by Crandall & Moseley, Cazenovia, NY
1858 advertised by Charles Crandall, Cazenovia, NY
1859 advertised by Charles Crandall, Cazenovia, NY
1861 Charles Crandall, Cazenovia, NY (stereotyped
by Thomas B. Smith, new York, NY)
Key to Blanchard's Arithmetic ...
1855 sold by Crandall & Moseley, Cazenovia, NY
ND advertised by Charles Crandall, Cazenovia, NY
Theoretical and Practical Arithmetic ... (©1852)
1853 Crandall & Moseley, Cazenovia, NY
1854 (3d ed.) Crandall & Moseley, Cazenovia,
NY / Leavitt & Allen, New York, NY
1855 sold by Crandall & Moseley, Cazenovia, NY
ND advertised by Charles Crandall, Cazenovia, NY
Boardman,
Charles ( - )
Improved Pocket Dictionary ... (©1836)
1836 S.H. Henry & Co., Cazenovia, NY
1844 Henry, Hitchcock and Co., Cazenovia, NY
(stereotyped by F.F. Ripley, New York, NY)
1852 Mills, Crandall & Moseley, Cazenovia, NY
(stereotyped by F.F. Ripley, New York, NY)
1853 Crandall & Moseley, Cazenovia, NY
1858 advertised by Charles Crandall, Cazenovia, NY
1859 advertised by Charles Crandall, Cazenovia, NY
Cobb, Lyman
(1800-1864)
(He also authored many other text books on spelling, reading, arithmetic,
&c. but these were not published in Cazenovia as far as I have been
able to determine)
Cobb's Juvenile Reader No. 3 ...
1841 (publisher not listed in catalog), Cazenovia,
NY
New Spelling Book in Six Parts ...
1842 H. Baker, Cazenovia, NY
Davies, Charles
(1798
to 1876)
(He also authored many other text books on surveying, mathematics,
&c. but these were not published in Cazenovia as far as I have been
able to determine)
Mental & Practical Arithmetic ...
1839 Henry, Baker & Co., Cazenovia, NY
Foord, Alvin,
MD (1799-1877)
(see my web
page about Dr. Foord!)
Foord's New York and Western Almanac for the year ...
(1861, for the year 1862) (publisher not known),
Cazenovia, NY
(1866, for the year 1867) A. Foord, publisher, John
A. Gray, printer, Cazenovia, NY
Murray, Lindley
(1745-1826)
(He also produced by many other publishers in other communities across
the northeast)
The English Reader ...
1836 advertised by S.H. Henry & Co., Cazenovia, NY
Perkins, George
W. ( - )
Phinney's Calendar or Western Almanac for ... (1852, 1856, 1859,
1860)
(1851) Mills, Crandall & Moseley, Cazenovia,
NY
(1855) Crandall & Moseley, Cazenovia, NY
(see illustration below)
(1858) Charles Crandall, Cazenovia, NY
(1859) Charles Crandall, Cazenovia, NY
Family
Almanac and Franklin Calendar, 1848
In catalog of Abell Family Papers at Cornell University (#1480), no publisher
given, Cazenovia, NY
Sanders, Charles
Walton (1805 to 1889)
(He also authored a numerous other readers and grammars which were
not published in Cazenovia as far as I have been able to determine.)
Sanders' Spelling Book ...
1841 Crandall & Moseley, Cazenovia, NY
(must be a later print on cover with old imprint inside not noted [C&M
were 1852-1854+])
1843 Henry, Hitchcock & Co., Cazenovia, NY (cover dated 1844)
1844 Henry & Sweetlands, Cazenovia, NY
1845 Henry & Sweetlands, Cazenovia, NY
1845 Charles Crandall, Cazenovia, NY (must
be a later print on cover with old imprint inside not noted [CC was 1848-1860+])
1845 Mills, Crandall & Mosely, Cazenovia, NY (must
be a later print on cover with old imprint inside not noted [M,C&M
were 1848-1852])
1846 Henry & Sweetlands, Cazenovia, NY (Mills, Crandall, &
Moseley, 1846, on cover [M,C&M were 1848-1852])
1849 Mills, Crandall & Moseley, Cazenovia, NY (must
be a later print on cover with old imprint inside not noted [CC was 1848-1860+])
1849 Henry & Sweetlands, Cazenovia, NY
/ Mark H. Newman, New York, NY
1858 Charles Crandall, Cazenovia, NY
1859 advertised by Charles Crandall, Cazenovia, NY
ND Charles Crandall, Cazenovia, NY (stereotyped by T.B.
Smith, New York, NY)
Sanders' Pictorial Primer ...
ND advertised by Crandall & Moseley, Cazenovia, NY
Sanders' Primary School Reader ...
ND advertised by Crandall & Moseley, Cazenovia, NY
Sanders' New Speller, Definer, and Analyzer ...
ND advertised by Charles Crandall, Cazenovia, NY
Sanders' Reader ... "Seven Numbers"
1855 advertised by Crandall & Moseley, Cazenovia,
NY
1858 advertised by Charles Crandall, Cazenovia, NY
1859 advertised by Charles Crandall, Cazenovia, NY
Sanders' New Series of Readers ... "Six Numbers"
ND advertised by Charles Crandall, Cazenovia, NY
Severance,
Charles ( to )
(Charles Severance is said to have authored a book on Catholicism,
but I have not been able to identify it)
Severance,
Moses ( to )
The American Manual, or New English Reader ... (© 1830)
(see illustration below)
Warner, Charles
Dudley (1829 to 1900)
Webster, Noah
(1748 to 1843)
The Elementary Spelling Book ... (entered 1829)
1836 S.H. Henry & Co., Cazenovia, NY (stereotyped
by A. Chandler)
1838 S.H. Henry & Co., Cazenovia, NY
1841 Henry, Hitchcock & Co., Cazenovia, NY (stereotyped by J.S.
Redfield, New York, NY)
1843? Henry, Hitchcock & Co., Cazenovia, NY
1845 advertised by Henry & Sweetlands, Cazenovia,
NY
Wright, Albert
D. ( to )
Elements of the English Language ... (©1842) (also known as
Wright's Orthography) (see
illustration below)
1842 (2nd ed) Henry, Hitchcock & Co., Cazenovia,
NY. / Robinson, Pratt, & Co., New York, NY (stereotyped by ___)
1843 (3d ed) Henry, Hitchcock & Co., Cazenovia,
NY
1845 (4th ed) Henry & Sweetlands, Cazenovia,
NY / A.V. Blake, New York, NY
**
1845 (4th ed) Henry, Hitchcock & Co., Cazenovia,
NY / Alexander V. Blake, New York, NY (stereotyped by T.B. Smith,
New York, NY)
1846 (4th ed) Henry & Sweetlands, Cazenovia,
NY
1847 (4th ed) Henry, Hitchcock & Co., Cazenovia,
NY / Robinson, Pratt, & Co., New York, NY
1847 (4th ed) Henry & Sweetlands, Cazenovia,
NY / Alexander V. Blake, New York, NY (stereotyped by T.B. Smith.
New York, NY)
**I have two copies of this text in my collection.
One is inscribed on the inside cover "John S. Cady's Book, Presented by
a book pedler, November 21st 1848" and the other "John R. (illegible),
May AD 1847, Sandusky City" Both have different covers, the former
simple hard cover, the latter hard cover with printed diagram.
Phonological Chart ...
1845 advertised by Henry & Sweetlands, Cazenovia,
NY
Anonymous, 1836, Western Almanac for ... 1837 ..., 18 x 11 cm, 12 leaves.
George W. Perkins, 1855, Phinney's Calendar or Western Almanac for ... 1856 ..., 16 x 11 cm.
Cover of Wright's Elements of the English Language (also known as Wright's Orthography)
Imprint of Moses Severence's American Manual, 1843.
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