H. J. Smith & Co., Chicago

Henry J. Smith (1854-1903) was a native of New Lisbon, Wisconsin. He established Henry J. Smith & Co.

Smith first starting publishing mainly as a subscription house in Chicago in about 1888 with branch offices subsequently in Philadelphia, San Francisco, Kansas City and Oakland.

In 1893 Horace O'Donoghue committed suicide. He was the main printer and binder of Smith's volumes. At the time of O'Donoghue’s death he was financially indebted to the Smith company based on previous conveyances of accommodation notes. O'Donoghue's failure to repay his debt to Smith in a timely fashion caused a cascade of events which led to Smith's failure.

H. J. Smith published four series for juveniles in 1891: