The Detroit Publishing Company was an American

photographic Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

publishing firm best known for its large assortment of

photochrom Photochrom, Fotochrom, Photochrome or the Aäc process is a process for producing colorized images from a single black-and-white photographic negative via the direct photographic transfer of the negative onto lithographic printing plates. The pr ...

color postcards.

History

The Detroit Publishing Company was started by publisher William A. Livingstone and photographer Edwin H. Husher in the late 19th century as the Detroit Photographic Company, it later became The Detroit Photochrom Company, and it was not until 1905 that the company called itself the Detroit Publishing Company. The company acquired rights to a color printing process developed by Hans Jakob Schmid of Orell Fussli & Company of Switzerland called

Photochrom Photochrom, Fotochrom, Photochrome or the Aäc process is a process for producing colorized images from a single black-and-white photographic negative via the direct photographic transfer of the negative onto lithographic printing plates. The pr ...

. Photochrom allowed for the company to

mass market The term "mass market" refers to a market for goods produced on a large scale for a significant number of end consumers. The mass market differs from the niche market in that the former focuses on consumers with a wide variety of backgrounds wi ...

postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...

s and other materials in color. The Detroit Detroit Publishing Company started to market this in 1907 under the name "photostint." Hotel Del c1900b

By the time of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the company faced declining sales both due to the war economy and the competition from cheaper, more advanced printing methods. The company declared bankruptcy in 1924 and was liquidated in 1932.

William Henry Jackson

The best-known photographer for the company was

William Henry Jackson William Henry Jackson (April 4, 1843 – June 30, 1942) was an American photographer, Civil War veteran, painter, and an explorer famous for his images of the American West. He was a great-great nephew of Samuel Wilson, the progenitor of Am ...

, who joined the company in 1897. He became the plant manager in 1903, and in 1905 the company changed its name.

References

Library Collections

Most of the existing negatives and prints are now housed by the

United States Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

, which received them via the Edison Institute and the Colorado Historical Society in 1949. Most images are visible in digital form at the Library of Congress Web site.
Detroit Photographic Company’s Views of North America, ca. 1897-1924
from the

Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library () is the rare book library and literary archive of the Yale University Library in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the largest buildings in the world dedicated to rare books and manuscripts. Es ...

Detroit Publishing Company Collection - Library of Congress
at the New-York Historical Society
The Detroit Publishing Company Collection
at the Newberry Library
William Henry Jackson Photochrom Collection
Decker Library, Maryland Institute College of Art
William Henry Jackson Photochrom Print Collection
Newberry Library

Amherst College Archives and Special Collections {{Authority control Postcard publishers Printing companies of the United States Defunct manufacturing companies based in Michigan

History

William Henry Jackson

References

Further reading

Library Collections