James R. Osgood & Co., Boston

James R. Osgood (1836-1892) was a native of Fryeburg, Maine. He was a graduate of Bowdoin and entered the publishing business as a clerk at Ticknor & Fields in 1855. In 1864 when William Davis Ticknor died, Osgood became a partner in the firm.

In 1868 the outfit was renamed Fields, Osgood and Company when Howard Ticknor withdrew from the firm. James Fields retired in 1870 and on January 2, 1871 James R. Osgood & Co. was established. The partners were Osgood, Benjamin Ticknor, the son of William Davis Ticknor, and John Clark.

James R. Osgood & Co. dissolved in January, 1878. At the same time Hurd & Houghton went out of business and Henry Houghton joined James R. Osgood to form Houghton, Osgood & Co. Houghton, Osgood & Co. was a short lived publisher and in 1880 James R. Osgood & Co. was reborn with new partners, Osgood, his brother Edward and John H. Ammon. In 1885 this new iteration went bankrupt.

The James R. Osgood juvenile output included a number of series. In its catalogues it lists some titles as authors' collections. These are included below if the collections had the same format for each book.

Advertising Cover-1884

James R. Osgood letter:

James R. Osgood & Co. trade card: