The original firm of G. & C. Merriam, shortly after becoming established in 1831, began publishing educational books in a small way. The first of these publications seem to have been a series of school readers, _The Child’s Guide_, _Village Reader_, etc. For many years, however, and probably almost from the time that they acquired the rights in Webster’s Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam and their successors have confined their publications to the Genuine Webster Dictionaries. WILLIAM H. SADLIER.--The founder of the business was Denis Sadlier, who organized a general Catholic publishing house in 1835. In 1841, James, the brother of Denis, was admitted to partnership, the firm name being D. & J. Sadlier & Co. Upon the death of the original partners, the firm was continued by James F., the son of Denis Sadlier. In 1872, William H. Sadlier left the old firm and started a purely textbook publishing house. His first books were the Excelsior Geographies, followed shortly by the Excelsior Histories and Readers, and then a general line of Catholic textbooks. William H. Sadlier died in 1877 and the business was continued by his widow, Annie M. Sadlier, who still lives and who may rightfully claim to be the original business woman of New York. A law had to be passed in the Assembly permitting her to do business under her husband’s name. Mrs. Sadlier retired about ten years ago, and the business is now being conducted by her son, Frank X. Sadlier, of the third generation. The surviving textbooks of the original firm are now being published by the firm of William H. Sadlier, which is the lineal successor of the original firm of D. & J. Sadlier & Company. G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS.--This firm was founded in 1837 by the late George Palmer Putnam, who was born at Brunswick, Maine, in 1814 and died in 1872. The London House was established in 1841. Some years after the death of Mr. George Palmer Putnam, the firm was changed into a corporation under the laws of the State of New York. Since 1880, the President of the corporation has been Major George Haven Putnam, who was born in London in 1844. Educational books, that is to say, books for the use of higher grade students, have been included in the Putnam list, but common school books have not been included. The first book coming under the description of “educational” published by the house was _The Tabular Views of Universal History_, compiled in 1832 by the late George Palmer Putnam. The present firm consists of Major George Haven Putnam, Irving Putnam, Sidney Haven Putnam, Edmund W. Putnam, and George Palmer Putnam, under the firm name of G. P. Putnam’s Sons.