The Editors: Kent P. Ljungquist, Professor of English at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, is the author of The Grand and the Fair: Poe’s Landscape Aesthetics and Pictorial Techniques (1984) and the editor of several reference works: The Facts on File Bibliography of American Fiction to 1865 (1994); Nineteenth-Century American Fiction Writers (1998); Antebellum Authors in the South (2001); and Antebellum Authors in the North (2002).James P. Hanlan, Professor of History at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, is the author of The Working Population of Manchester New Hampshire, 1840 to 1886 (1981) and co-editor of Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor (2003). He has served as the Executive Secretary of the New England Historical Association.Rodney G. Obien, Curator of Special Collections & Archives at the Gordon Library at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, serves on the board of the New England Archivists.

«‘Notes on the History of Woodbury and Company’ fills a void in Worcester’s business and technological history. It is a hands-on treatment of a relatively small but innovative photo-engraving firm that prospered in an important industrial city dominated by larger firms. The Woodbury story is one well worth reading for both budding entrepreneurs and inventors as well as industrial history scholars.» (Bruce Cohen, Chair, Department of History, Worcester State College)«Just about everyone of a certain age has admired at one time or another a Woodbury and Company engraving, be it the famous «Bird’s-Eye-Views» of various factories and buildings that once adorned the walls of countless offices throughout the United States before making their way onto business stationery as striking letterheads, or the 2,500 or so «First Day Covers» of commemorative stamp issues produced for the Post Office that became a staple of the Worcester, Massachusetts, operation for several decades. This sprightly history – written half-a-century ago by a former president of the company and discovered among the family-owned firm’s archives after it closed its doors for good in 2002 after 123 years in business – is a valuable addition to the history of printing and the graphic arts in America, and well worth the attention of students, professionals, and collectors alike. The editors have done a wonderful job of preserving the integrity of the original document while providing the reader with detailed notes, chronology, and evocative illustrations; a most worthwhile and engaging effort indeed.» (Nicholas A. Basbanes, author of ‘A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books’; ‘Patience & Fortitude: A Roving Chronicle of Book People, Book Places, and Book Culture’; ‘A Splendor of Letters: The Permanence of Books in an Impermanent World’; and ‘Every Book Its Reader: The Power of the Printed Word to Stir the World’)