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 ?
M - PUBLISHERS page 1
On to Page 2
W. G. MacFarlane Publishing Co. Ltd.) (1901-1914)
Toronto, ON Canada and Buffalo, NY
Founded by William Godsoe MacFarlane to produce picture souvenir books. Soon afterwards they went on to publish color and black & white view-cards of Canada, mostly of the Great Lakes Region, and of selective locations within the United States. They are also noted for their many cards depicting Native Americans and cowboys. Many of their early cards have very distinct graphic elements added to them.
De Macropolo & Co. Ltd. 1920-1979
Calcutta, India
A publisher of black & white and continuous toned hand colored postcards depicting local views and street life. Some of their cards were printed on glossy paper and they resemble hand colored photographs. They were printed in both Germany and England. By 1942 they became heavily involved in the profitable cigarette industry and were purchased by Philip Morris through Godfrey Philips in 1979.
R.H. Macy & Co. 1858-1994
New York, NY
In 1851 the Quaker Rowland Hussey Macy opened a dry goods store catering to the whalers of Haverhill, Massachusetts before moving to New York. As his new store grew into a major department store it passed through a number of owners. They were an early user of postcards to promote there business but many of these cards were not illustrated. By the 1920’s they began to open stores in other cities and took over the sponsorship of the Thanksgiving Parade in New York City. They now expanded their postcard publishing to create images of this parade for self promotion. In 1994 Macy’s merged with Federated Department Stores but the Macy name continues to be used as a brand. The R.H. Macy stores were also used as the subject of postcards created by other publishers.
Isaac L. Maduro, Jr. (1904-1920’s)
34-46 Cathedral Square, Panama City, Panama
An important photographer of Panamanian views. Many of his images were turned into continuous toned and halftone lithographic postcards and booklets that were sold from his souvenir store. These cards were first printed in Germany, and then later in the United States. Maduro is known for his large set of cards depicting the construction of the Panama Canal.
Maether & Co. (M. & Co.) (1898-1919)
Nachf, Berlin, Germany and New York, NY
Publisher of International halftone lithographic view-cards. Their postcards of New York City tend to have a distinct pallet with bold red titles. They were printed in Berlin, Germany.
Mahler & Ressel (1905-1907)
Rothenburg, Bavaria
A publisher of postcard views in sepia photo gravure and early Gruss aus cards in black & white.
Alfred Mainzer 1938-
Long Island City, NY
A publisher of linen and photochrome view-cards. Well known since the 1940’s for their Dressed Cat Series drawn by Eugen Hurtong, which are sometimes refered to as Mainzer Cats. The cards of this series were first printed in a continuous tone by Max Kunzli of Switzerland, while their later cards were printed in halftone lithography in a variety of countries.
Majestic Publishing Co. 1905-1950
Indianapolis, IN
A publisher of a variety of postcard genres including holiday, Indians, and trains in halftone lithography.
Major & Knapp 1863-1888
New York, NY
In 1846 Napoleon Sarony and Henry Major began their lithographic firm Sarony & Major. Joseph F. Knapp served as an apprentice there but became a partner eleven years later. Sarony, whose interests began to sway towards photography left the firm in 1863 and it was renamed Major & Knapp. For awhile they became the largest producer of sheet music, but they also printed large quantities of posters, cigar labels, and trade cards in chromolithography. As Joseph Knapp became more interested in the insurance business (he was a director of the Metropolitan Insurance Co.) his son Joseph Palmer took over more of the printing responsibilities and by 1888 the firm was renamed the Knapp Company.
Malleable Iron Range Co. 1896-1985
Beaver Dam, WI
This manufacturer of stoves and furnaces was founded in St. Louis by Silas McClure and A.C. Terrell. In 1901 they moved to Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. They published both advertising cards and artist drawn postcards to publicize their line under the Monarch trademark. The Company filed for bankruptcy in 1985 as demand for their products declined.
Julian Mandel (1920-1930’s)
Paris, France
An important photographer of the female nude. His models are often found in highly arranged classical poses. Mandel was highly influenced by the volkisch naturalist movements of Germany, that harkened back to an earlier romanticism in the face of an environment degraded by industrialization and urban sprawl. He placed many of his models in outdoor settings to tie the natural state of the nude to the purity of the land. Much of his work was turned into real photo postcards, both black & white and tinted. Though published through the studios of Alfred Noyer, Les Studios, P-C Paris, and the Neue Photographische Gesellschaft, his full name usually appears on the front of these cards.
Gustave Mandt (1911-1920)
Lauterbach, Germany
A publishers of artist signed and photographic based lithographic postcards. While he produced many view-cards, he is best known for scenes dominated by rural life and types.
Manhattan Post Card Publishing Co. (1928-1965)
114 Park Row, New York, NY
A publisher of continuous tone and halftone lithographic postcards from white border to photochromes. Their cards captured a variety of mid-Atlantic scenes, but most cards depict scenes of New York City.
A. Vivian Mansell & Co., Ltd. (1910-)
Silk Street, London, England
A publisher of fine art lithographic products. They produced many advertising cards plus artist signed postcards. They are best known for their glamour cards and hunting scenes but many view-cards were produced as well. These halftone cards were manufactured in England.
Marco Marcovici (1912-1930)
Brussels, Belgium
A publisher of collotype view-cards, many of which were hand colored. During the First World War they produced many military related cards and views in sepia.
Marken & Bielfeld, Inc. (1930’s-1949)
Frederick, MD
A publisher of mid-Atlantic view-cards from white borders types to linens.
J.J. Marks (1908-1912)
New York, NY.
A publisher of chromolithographic postcards in a Comic Series and as holiday cards.
Hermann Martin (1899-1945)
Nuremberg, Bavaria
An early publisher of chromolithographic postcards, some of which were embossed. Later they began producing their cards in halftone lithography and as black & white collotypes which were often hand colored in a RGB pallet.
William H. Martin 1894-1912
Ottawa, KS
A photographer of Western motifs. Produced many photographs of Native Americans including mock battle scenes that were published as postcards. Martin is most noted for his photo montague exaggeration cards that he introduced in 1908. He stopped publishing postcards in 1912 to open the National Sign Company.
Martinson, Tiffany (1918-1919)
New York, NY
Photographers who published real photo postcards with military themes during the First World War. The scenes depicted range from the front lines in France to the victory celebrations back in New York.
Mason Brothers & Co. (1907-1917)
Boston, MA
A publisher of halftone lithographic view-cards depicting New England, especially of the Boston area. These cards were printed in Germany.
C. B. Mason (1907-1926)
New Orleans, LA
A publisher of halftone lithographic view-cards depicting scenes of New Orleans.
I.E. Marcus (1898-1905)
St. Petersburg, Russia
A printer and publisher of artist signed chromolithographic postcards. Their subjects included views of Russia and Palestine plus greetings and ethnic types. Many of their cards have outstanding graphic design work incorporated into the image. Some cards can be found with perforated edges. They were printed in Russia.
E.G. May & Sons 1878-1914
Frankfurt, Germany
The printing and publishing house of E.G. May was founded by the self taught lithographer Edward Gustave May in 1845. May was largely producing chromolithographic products by 1877 when he became heavily involved in the production of holiday cards. After retiring a year later his sons Robert and Franz took over the business and changed the companies name to E.G May & Sons. They went on to publish postcards though production eventually switched to halftone lithography. When their logo was not used their cards were published under the name Egemes. In 1914 they merged with Dresdner Art Institute to become Art Institute May AG.
Mayrose Co. (1940-1950)
Linden, NJ
A publisher of view-cards that largely depicted scenes of New Jersey, many with themes of the modern highway and bridges. While most of these cards were in black & white, they produced many hand colored cards of Atlantic City.
Mayer, Merkel & Ottmann (1875-1882)
25 Warren Street, New York, NY
A printer who produced many different items such as bank checks, maps, trade cards, and advertising cards in chromolithography. A fire in March of 1882 destroyed much of their shop in an adjacent building.
J.G. McCrory & Co. 1882-1997
New York, NY
This chain of Five & Dimes opened in New York State and Pennsylvania with a handful of outlets but grew to have 1300 stores nationwide. They published a number of picture books and postcards that were sold from their counters. These cards were not of the highest quality. They were purchased by Rapid American Holding in 1963 and the last stores closed in 1997 after years in bankruptcy.
J.A. McCulloch & Co. (1903-)
Gorgie, Edinburg, Scotland
A publisher of sepia and colored view-cards of Scotland. Most of these cards were based on photographs taken by C. Reid of Wishaw, and were issued inder the Caledonia Series name. These cards were printed in gravure in Saxony.
McDougall & Keefe (1913-38)
Boothbay Harbor, ME
Photographers who published real photo postcards of their work depicting Maine’s mid-coast region. While their name usually appears on the back of these cards none are titled or numbered.
H. R. McGregor (1930-1935)
Boothbay Harbor, ME
A photographer who published real photo postcards of scenes arround Boothbay Harbor in Maine.
Edwin C. McIntire (1907-1937)
Gloucester, MA
Published view-cards of Cape Ann, Massachusetts in open halftone lithography with very crude hand coloring. The poor printing quality give some cards an almost stylish modern look.
McGown-Silsbee Litho Co. (1913-1918)
New York, NY
Publishers of halftone lithographic view-cards of New York City. They are noted for their many uptown scenes.
McKay Art Co. (1922-1957)
Missoula, MT
Barber and photographer Rollin H. Mckay produced many real photo postcards including panoramic images.
C.W. McLauthlin (1908-1935)
Green Harbor, MA
A publisher of local view-cards that were printed in black & white, monochrome, and color lithography. While some cards are in continuous tones, others were printed with halftones. Many of these cards were sold out of McLauthlin’s general store.
Medici Society Ltd. 1908-
Islington, England
An important art publisher who made a discerning effort to produce products at lowest possible price to make them affordable to the widest possible audience. They began by printing sets of art cards but after the First World War they began producing greeting cards and artist signed cards by contemporary painters and illustrators. Many of their cards dealt with natural history subjects and children’s stories. They now publish a wide variety of items including reprints of their old cards. Moved to North London in 1999.
A.S. Meeker (1908-1910)
New York, NY
A publisher of artist signed postcards in halftone lithography, many of which were embossed. Most of there cards were issued in series and dealt with holidays and romantic themes.
Ezra Meeker 1906-1928
Seattle, WA
Meeker came out West on the Oregon Trail in 1852, and in his latter years he traveled across the country in a covered wagon in efforts to raise money for monuments honoring westward migration. He published and sold postcards depicting the Oregon Trail and documentations of his travels and publicity events around the country. While these cards were made in a wide variety of techniques almost all were still poorly printed. Many of Meeker’s cards were produced in series but individual cards can be found that do not fall into the following sets.
Series A - 16 cards of the Oregon Trail.
Series B - 16 cards mostly of Indian Chiefs.
Series C - 16 cards of Meeker’s travels with hand coloring.
C. W. Megathlin (1905-1915)
Hyannis, MA
A druggist and publisher of many view-cards depicting the Cape Cod region. These cards were manufactured by a variety of printers.
Meissner & Buch 1876-1914
Leipzig, Saxony and 121 Bunhill Row, London, England
Printers and publishers of a variety of fine lithographic products. They began by producing Christmas cards in Leipzig in 1884 and distributed them through an agent in England. They are well known for their very high quality postcards of women, children, greetings, and views. Many of their cards are accompanied by elaborate graphic designs. They later published artist prints under the name Anderson Nexo.
Meriden Gravure Co. (1925-1949)
Meriden, CT
A printer of many fine art books and black & white national view-cards in gravure. They also issued cards printed in a dull bluegreen monotone that they called Dutone.
A. E. Merrill (1912-23)
Damariscotta, ME
A photographer and publisher of real photo postcards depicting the Bristol Damariscotta region of mid-coast Maine.
Elbridge Warren Merrill (1906-1929)
Stika, AK
Merrill was a photographer from Massachusetts who moved to Alaska during the gold rush years. There he published real photo postcards of his work. Merrill became the first custodian of Stika National Historic Park, which he used as subject matter and also background for his portrait work. The name Merrill is embossed into his cards.
F. E. Merrill (1906-1913)
Freeport, ME
Published color and black & white lithographic view-cards of the Casco Bay region of Maine. He used a variety of printers to make his cards but most were manufactured by the Hugh C. Leighton Company.
Metrocraft (Metropolitan) 1940’s-1984
Everett, MA
A major printer of linen and photochrome postcards displaying a variety of subjects. They also printed postcards for a number of other publishers.
(M continues on next page)
