A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z ?
B - PUBLISHERS page 1
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Baltimore Badge & Novelty Co. (1896-1907)
Baltimore, MD
These lithographers produced a wide variety of printed items but are best known for their political buttons. They also produced finely printed postcards and made the official cards for the Jamestown Exposition in 1907.
Bamforth & Co. 1870-1990
Holmfirth, England
James Bamforth began his career as a manufacturer of lantern slides. In 1890 he started production of illustrated song lyric slides that audiences could sing along to at shows. This quickly became his most popular selling item. In the years following, the Company became the largest producer of model slides. From this vast photo inventory Bamforth began to publish of a variety of postcard types including comics, greetings, propaganda, real photos, and views, but especially song sets, many of which were reproduced from lantern slide images. Today they are best remembered for their series of saucy seaside postcards, which may have numbered close to a 100,000 different titles. While this series was begun in 1902, they did not become very popular until the 1930’s. In 1906 Bamforth opened a New York Office at 35 West 21st Street. By 1910 they had become a Limited company. The Company was sold to ETW Dennis, but in 2000 the rights to their images was purchased by Ian Walker.
Clyde Banks (1917-)
Bellingham, WA
Banks served as an ariel photographer during the First World War and later opened a camera and art shop. He produced mostly scenic views from which he published many real photo postcards. They had hand written titles exposed on the front, which makes these scenes easily identifiable today. His two sons took over the business in 1960.
F. von Bardolben (1906-1910)
New York, NY
A publisher of lithographic postcards depicting views of the northeast United States and of the United Kingdom. They produced a notable set of historic monotone views of New York City. Their cards were printed in Germany.
Barkalow Brothers Co. 1865-
Omaha, NE
Publishers and general news agent founded by Sidney and Derrick Barkalow. They became the exclusive distributors of printed materials, including postcards, for the Union Pacific Railroad. The Barkalow Brothers also published non railroad oriented view-cards that were often printed by Tom Jones. They eventually became suppliers of hotel gift shops and moved their business to Fort Myers, Florida.
Esmond G. Barnhill 1913-1987
St. Petersburg, FL
A photographer who opened the Florida Photo Studio in 1914. From there he sold his own orotones and hand colored photographs as well as greeting cards and many real photo postcards. Most of these were local scenes of town or generic Florida landscapes. As time went by he had the Albertype Company print up many of his images in black & white instead of producing real photo cards. However Barhill hand colored many of these cards himself in intense colors with golden undertones inspired by his work with orotones. Eventualy hand colored looking images were reproduced totally by lithography in Saxony. Most of his photographic work was done by 1930. Barnhill was also intrigued by Native Americans and he made attempts at running an Indian Museum in Florida and a curio shop at the Wisconsin Dells with little success..
Barton & Spooner (1906-1915)
Cornwall, NY
A publisher of lithographic regional view-cards, holiday cards, maps, and comics. They are known for the many cards produced with Dutch children and their Foolish Question Series. Their cards were printed in Germany.
Harry H. Baumann (1940’s)
216 West 18th Street, New York, NY
A publisher and designer of linen postcards. He is best known for a series of 21 cards depicting LaGuardia Airport and the series Landmarks of New York City.
Henry M. Beach 1880’s-1943
Remsen, NY
A photographer who produced many photos and real photo postcards of upstate New York, especially around the Adirondack region. Henry spent his early life in the town of Watson where he may have opened a photo shop with his brother Louis in 1902 from which he began selling postcards two years latter. Between 1906 and 1916 he lived in Remson where he began concentrating on producing real photo cards. While his brother did not move with him it remained a family business with many hands involved in postcard production. He produced a wide variety of card types ranging from the panorama to montaged novelties. Much of his extended family was involved in logging, which became a common motif for his postcards. Many of these cards are labeled Beach’s Real Photo.
His son Harry M. Beach was also a photographer who lived a fairly nomadic life. Since many photos only make reference to H.M. Beach their work is often confused. Harry also reprinted many of his fathers early works.
Bear Photo Co. (1906-1930)
San Francisco, CA
Published some of their own photographs as printed postcards, some with hand coloring. They are best known for their images of the San Francisco earthquake and Yosemite National Park. They also produced a camera similar to the Kodak Brownie with a silhouette of a bear on its front.
Beck Engraving Co. 1896-
Philadelphia, PA
This small printing shop founded by George W. Beck has grown into one of the nationŐs largest graphic arts production firms for advertising and publications. Beck’s involvement in postcard production is limited to one image printed in color gravure with some gold overprinting. It was first issued as a pioneer Souvenir Card and reissued again in latter years.
Richard Behrendt (1906-1913)
San Francisco, CA
A publisher of a variety of postcard types including many view-cards of the West Coast.
J.P. Bell Co. (1891-)
Lynchburg, VA
A printer and publisher of a variety of materials including many books and postcards. Some of their cards were printed under contract for regional businesses and groups.
Benham Co. (1910-1915)
Los Angeles, CA
A publisher of a wide variety of postcard types including views, expositions, Indians, and novelties. These cards were printed in halftone lithography with an untypical RYB pallet.
Bergman (1912-1913)
New York, NY
Published holiday and comic postcards in continuous tone lithography.
Morris Berman (1908-1923)
New Haven, CT
A publisher of halftone lithographic view-cards depicting southern New England. He also created a set of military cards during WWI.
Berger Brothers Publishers (1910-1951)
Providence, RI
A publisher of Rhode Island view-cards in black & white and color halftone lithography. They eventually printed photochromes. Their cards were made in the United States.
Max Bernstein (1916-1932)
Kansas City, MO
A publisher of lithographic postcards from white border to linens. Most of these cards depicted views and events of the American mid-West though other types of cards were produced as well such as Judaica. Many of Bernstein’s cards were printed by Curt Teich.
Berry Paper Co. (1907-1910)
Lewiston, ME
Published view-cards of Maine in black & white and color halftone lithography.
Bestetti & Tumminelli (1913-1933)
Milan, Italy
A major art publisher of fine illustrated books and prints. They also produced many postcards that were printed in halftone lithography. These cards were mostly art reproductions though they produced a large set of artist drawn military cards during World War One.
Best's Studio Inc. Co. 1902-1972
Yosemite Village, CA
Opened as a shop selling the paintings of Harry Cassie Best and the hand colored photos of his wife Anne Rippey as souvenirs of Yosemite National Park. Their daughter Virginia married Ansel Adams in 1928 and they took over the shop in 1936 after Harry’s death. They sold high quality souvenirs including real photo postcards of their own work. The National Park Service did not allow shops operating in their parks to be publishers, so while these cards are marked Published by Best’s Studio, they actually formed a new company called Five Associates to be the legal publisher. In 1972 the business was turned over to Ansel’s son and daughter in-law and renamed the Ansel Adams Gallery. Five Associates was passed down to their daughter Anne and it was renamed Museum Graphics.
Bicknell Mfg. Co. (1933-1946)
16 Pitt Street, Portland, ME
J. Carleton Bicknell was a photographer and publisher of real photo postcards depicting Maine.
Julius Bien & Co. (1907-1909)
New York, NY
An early lithographer. Published sets of comic, holiday, patriotic, religious, and sentimental postcards in chromolithography. Their work is typified by a highly graphic style.
A. Biren (1912-1948)
Brooklyn, NY
Published continuous tone black & white lithographic views of New York City and Long Island. They later published linens of New York and many generic cards.
Birn Brothers, Ltd. (1905-1964)
67-70 Bunhill Row, London England
A large printing house that produced postcards on a wide variety of subjects that include Christmas cards, greetings, actresses, views, propaganda, military and naval themes, and artist signed cards. Their color lithographic cards did not employ the traditional halftone screen but one with a rosette pattern that is most often found in offset printing. They also produced many postcards in sepia, as real photos, and embroidered silks. Despite their large postcard production they seem to have been primarily involved in printing cheap pictorial books. Many of their cards were published under the name BB London and printed in Saxony and Bavaria.
A & C Black, Ltd. 1807-
4-7 Soho Square, London, England
A major publishing firm founded by Adam and Charles Black in Edinburgh, Scotland. Though primarily producing fine books and maps they began to publish postcards after their move to London in 1889. Many of these postcard images were taken from the watercolors of Wilfred Ball, Heaton Cooper, and H.B. Wimbush that had been reproduced in their books. Raphael Tuck used some of Black’s watercolors for their postcards. They are now owned by Bloomsbury.
I. H. Blanchard Press Co. (1901-1907)
New York, NY
A publisher of mid-Atlantic view-cards in halftone lithography.
Blanchard Young & Co. (1906-1924)
Providence, RI
A publisher of Rhode Island and Massachusetts view-cards in color gravure. They were printed in Germany.
O. Blaschke (1904-1908)
Prien am Chiemsee, Bavaria
A publisher of chromolithographic postcards produced in series. Many of these cards were embossed and have elaborate designs.
Bloom Brothers Co. (1907-22)
Minneapolis, MN
A distributor of gift products for retail stores. Published view-cards depicting the upper mid-West to the Rockies. They also produced cards on cowboy poetry and other themes of the American West. They became part of the Vaughn Products Division of Vaughn Communications in 1943 but they continue to produce postcards under the Bloom Brothers name.
A.O. Boeres Co. (1917)
Phoenix, AZ
A Publisher of view-cards depicting scenes from Arizona. Many of these cards were printed by Curt Teich.
Boesinger & Co. (1920’s)
Hinsidi, Baghdad, Iraq
Published real photo postcards of local views and street life.
Boots Cash Chemists, Ltd. 1890’s-
Nottingham, England
John Boot opened his first store in 1849 and began a tradition of serving the health needs of ordinary people as cheaply as he could. After his son Jessie married Florence Rowe in 1886 the business began to greatly expand as she to interest in it. While the name was changed in 1888 to Boots Pure Drugs they began to sell all sorts of items including postcards by the 1890’s. These lithographic cards issued under the Pelham Series name included animals, art reproductions, patriotic themes, and view-cards. Many real photo cards were manufactured for them by Valentine&rsqio;s. As time went on the colors in their cards grew more intense until they gave them an easily recognizable look. Boots grew into a chain of more than 800 stores.
A. C. Bosselman & Co. (1901-1919)
100 Grand Street, New York, NY
A publisher of national view-cards in halftone lithography. They also published a set on Blacks under the Sunny South Series. Their cards were printed in Germany.
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