Estes and Lauriat wins International Exhibition Award

Estes and Lauriat was a prolific Boston publisher in the late 19th century. Elegant bindings, beautifully appointed publisher's series and oversized books for juveniles highlight what was an extensive book list.

Among the most popular of its books were the Zigzag Series by Butterworth and the Three Vassar Girls Series by Champney.

This house had its origins when Dana Estes joined Henry Degen. The Degen, Estes and Company publishing firm was the immediate predecessor to Estes and Lauriat which was founded in 1872. Because of financial difficulties Charles Lauriat left the publishing firm in 1898 and Dana Estes carried on with Dana Estes and Company.

In 1876 the International Exhibition took place in Philadelphia. This advertising cover notes that Estes and Lauriat received highest honors "in every department of bookmaking". The exact award stated: "Commended for accuracy, neatness and beauty of typographical and engraved work, clearness of paper and standard character of publications". Other publishers who received awards in this area were Lippincott, Potter, and Zell.

This cover is quite interesting because of the association between the publishing house and Philadelphia's International Exhibition.

Book corner protectors from DeWolfe and Fiske

Book corner protectors have been previously discussed in a blog post on October 29, 2009. They are distinctly uncommon and at that time I showed two that I had found. Here is another one.

The book it protects is an 1895 reprint of Captain January by Laura E. Richards. Estes and Lauriat is the publisher . In a book writing career that included numerous popular children's books, this is perhaps Richards' most famous title. For a good biography see: http://readseries.com/auth-oz/richardsbio.html.

The corner protectors here were issued by DeWolfe and Fiske Company. In addition to being a publishing company of note, it also ran the Archway Bookstore.

It was there that this book was sold. This book however was not sold in 1895 despite the title page date.

In 1907 the Archway bookstore moved from 365 Washington Street to the Franklin Street address. Thus the corner protectors at their earliest are from 1907.

I believe that corner protectors from this era are much more difficult to find than dust jackets from the same years.

Estes and Lauriat -Laura E. Edwards Advertising Flyer

Here is a great advertising flyer (3.75 x 5.25) for several Laura E. Richards' books. It is dated in 1881. This piece from the Estes and Lauriat publishing house is very similar to others of this same era I have seen from this house. (For the ZigZag books, Knockabout Books, and Travels by Ober.)


Laura E. Richards (1850-1943) was a prolific authoress of children's books. The most famous work was Captain January which was made into a film starring Shirley Temple. She was born in Boston. Her parents were Julia Ward Howe, a very well known writer and author of the Battle Hymn of the Republic and Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe, the managing director of the Perkins Institute for the Blind.


She was married in 1871 to Henry Richards who was still her husband at the time of her death. Her works initially were penned to help with the family finances. Her first work was jingles published by St. Nicholas (magazine). Her first book was Five Little Mice in a Mouse Trap published by Estes and Lauriat in 1880. Although the vast majority of her work was for children, she also wrote several biographies. Her autobiography "Stepping Westward" was published in 1931.

Estes and Lauriat Trade Card-Zig Zag Series

The prototypical travelogue series for children was the Zig Zag Series written by Hezekiah Butterworth published by Estes and Lauriat. It may not have been the best written or the most accurate but it appears that it outsold the competition by a lot. Butterworth , his books and his series will be discussed in the future. This post is about the trade card.

Estes and Lauriat published the first three Zig Zag books in 1880 (Europe), 1881 (Classic Lands) and 1882 ( in the Orient). In 1882 it printed trade cards advertising the first three books of the series. There is a card for each book that features it individually on the front of the card.

On the reverse of the card the three Zig Zag books in addition to a Knockabout Club series books are advertised. There is also a trade card that shows the Knockabout book.

Each of the books were published in illuminated board covers or cloth with gilt designs. The trade cards show the former cover.

I have seen more Estes and Lauriat trade cards featuring books than I have any other 19th century publisher.


Here is a picture of the book featured on the trade card.

Charles E. Lauriat's Bookstore

As I was doing to work on a future blog about Kate Douglas Wiggin, I found a sticker on the bottom of one of the front end papers of a book. It says Chas. E. Lauriat Co. I knew that Lauriat was one of the founding/ named partners of the 19th century Boston publishing house of Estes and Lauriat. But did he also sell books? Here is the scoop.

In 1898 Charles Lauriat (1842-1920) decided to became a bookseller only and leave the publishing to his former partner Dana Estes. So their partnership was dissolved. Dana Estes continued to publish books as Dana Estes and Company. Lauriat bought out the stock of Estes and Lauriat and on June 1, 1898 started his retail establishment at 301 Washington Street, Opposite "Old South". He sold the Estes books as well as the books of other publishers He moved to larger quarters in 1906 just down the way at 385 Washington Street. He remained as president of this company until his death.




Here is the 385 Washington location.

Unfortunately even with a magnifying glass the
resolution is not good enough to make out any
significant details.

















This is the bookstore at 301 Washington.

How would you like to be able to browse in this store today??