Short answers, pulled from the story.
The American Book Company emerged in 1890 from the consolidation of four major textbook publishers. Van Antwerp, Bragg and Co., A.S. Barnes & Co., D. Appleton and Co., and Ivison, Blakeman and Co. joined forces to create a single dominant entity.
Sales figures for the McGuffey Readers reached an astonishing 120 million copies between 1836 and 1960. These books became the backbone of American education for generations of students under the publisher's rights.
Litton Industries acquired the American Book Company in 1967 and existed as a division of Litton Educational Publishing, Inc. until being sold to the International Thomson Organization in 1981. The original imprint ceased to exist within the corporate structure following these transactions.
Harry H. Clark served as general editor for a twenty-three volume set published from 1934 through the 1940s. Each volume contained one or two editors who curated representative selections with introductions and notes.
Historical documents regarding the defunct publisher are preserved at Syracuse University. Researchers can access records detailing the company's operations and internal history spanning decades of business activity before the firm dissolved.