Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Company
—In 1850, Daniel Lothrop and his brothers, John and Henry, formed a partnership known as D. Lothrop & Company for the publishing of books in Dover, N. H. Their early publications were mostly juvenile, and largely for use in Sunday School libraries. A little more than ten years later, the business was removed to Boston, and later incorporated as D. Lothrop Company. After the death of Daniel Lothrop, the business was reorganized in 1891 as the Lothrop Publishing Company, and so continued until 1904, when all its assets were purchased by Lee & Shepard.
The Lothrop house published a great many books of educational value, like Gilman’s Historical Readers, in three volumes, and Miss Cyr’s Interstate Primer and First Reader. Their most important educational book was Finger Plays, by Emilie Poulsson, of which 110,000 copies have been sold.
The firm of Lee & Shepard was founded in Boston in 1861 by William Lee, who had previously been a partner of Phillips Sampson & Company, a Boston publishing house which went out of existence in the 50’s, and Charles A. B. Shepard. Mr. Shepard died in 1889, and Mr. Lee continued as sole partner until June, 1898, when he transferred his entire business to E. Fleming & Company, book binders, who continued the business by placing it in charge of Warren F. Gregory.
Lee & Shepard were general publishers and, like D. Lothrop & Company, had strong lines of juveniles which were much used in school libraries. Of their distinctively educational books, the most successful were King’s Picturesque Geographical Readers, in six volumes.
In 1904, the owners of Lee & Shepard purchased the entire assets of the Lothrop Publishing Company, and incorporated the combined houses under the style Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Company. Mr. Gregory, the Manager of Lee & Shepard, was elected General Manager and has held that position since. Among its most important works used educationally, in addition to those mentioned above, are the True Story Series, the U. S. Service Series, the translation of Froebel’s Mother Play, with Music, and books for younger readers.