The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-05
1.-THE HOUSE OR HARPER"

"A CENTURY OF PUBLISHING IN
 FRANKLIN SQUARE" By J. Henry
 Harper. With portraits. Harper Broth
 CTS. New York.
 Looked upon ass valuable contribu-
 ton to literature. "The House of Harper
 is one of the most notable books of the
 year, as well as one of the most enter
 taining in point of reminiscence and an-
 ecdote attendant upon one of the most fourishing firms in the world today.
 MT. J. Henry Harper. the author of
 ''The House of Harper is a member of
 the firm at the present time, and IS a
 grandson of MT. Fletcher Harper one of
 it's founders
 When the publishing house was first
 organized 1t was known as "J. & J. liar per" and remained under that name until | 1863
 | once upon a time the question was
 asked of the four brothers who composed
 the firm, John. James, Joseph Wesley
 and Fletcher Harper:
 (Which of you is the Harper?' | Whereupon the answer came quickly;
 "Efther one of us is the Harper-the rest are the Brothers"
 Friendly honor and fraternal conf dence seems always 10 have been the keynote of the Harper Brothers-else how could they have achieved the dis tiuction that is now theirs, as a reliable trustworthy, honest and sincere firm that always measures lip to the standard
 Going back over a bit of history we
 learn from ''The House of Harper" that among their earliest publications were the "Waverly Novels.' '.Peveril of the Peak was presented to the American public by the Harpers within 21 hours after the arrival of the ship bearing the first copy to this coun- try.
 Commensurate with the times has beer the advancement of The House of liar per" in every particular and as early as 1895 we find the firm removing into new
 quarters in Cliff street, and this site they have since occupied, their buildings in creasing In proportion to the immense amount of business transacted. all the newest and most improved methods being employed to make their work the best and the most satisfactory that the public could desire.
 The present editor of Harpers Magazne Joined the firm when all four of the
 brothers were alive and actively engaged in the business.
 ''For nearly six years after my con nection with the establishment, he writes. "the beautiful association of the four Harper brothers remained unbroken They were known among themselves and bv their intimates by soubriquets, whose origin refers to time far antedating my aoquaintance with them. James was known as the Mayor, John as the Col onel,' Joseph Wesley as the Captain, and Fletcher as the Major. How indeli-
 ble in my memory are the faces of these
 men and their frankly disclosed charac. l ters''
 | Mir Harper has interspersed the pages | of "The House of Harper with numerous
 memories of notable persons with whom | those connected with a large publishing house would naturally come in contact. | Of course one always associates th' name of MT. George William Curtis witt ''The House of Harper even whether tho name of the Hampers is mentioned o not
 | "TTe took charge of the Editors Easy ] Chair of Harper's Magazine in 1853 ant later he became the political editor, whicl post he maintained until his death h | 1S9a''
 | "The House of Harper" is a compen ! dlum of all that is even remotely con