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This building as represented above, located at No. 420 Plum Street, Cincinnati, Ohio, was erected in 1916. It is 114 feet on Plum Street, extending east 189 feet to Home Street, and 124 feet on Home Street, and contains approximately 112,000 square feet of floor space. The entire building is occupied by the Book Concern and other Methodist activities. One Hundred Years of Progress An Account of the Ceremonies held at Cincinnati, Ohio, Wednesday, October Sixth, Nineteen Hundred and Twenty, commemora­ ting the establishment of The Methodist Book Concern in the West Edited by CHARLES W. BARNES, D.D. THE METHODIST BOOK CONCERN CINCINNATI, OHIO Contents PAGE THE INVITATION 7 I PROGRAM - 9 II THE HOUSE OF GOOD BOOKS ::; 17 III THE STORY OF THE OCCASION 20 IV THE PROGRAM As RENDERED 30 V SKETCHES OF THE WESTERN PUBLISHING AGENTS 87 VI THE WELFARE WORK AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES 98 VII THE METHODIST BOOK CONCERN FAMILY 105 October 6th October 6th 1820 1920 ,~HE Publishing Agents and the Book '-' Committee of the Methodist Epis­ copal Church cordially invite you to be pres en t at the exercises commemorating the cen tennial of the establishment of The Meth­ odist Book Concern in the West, to be held at Cincinnati, Ohio, Wednesday, October the sixth, One thousand nine hundred and twenty- -; A luncheon will be served on Wednesday during the noon hour in the coun ting room. At four o'clock Wednesday afternoon each of the sites occupied by The Methodist Book Concern during the century will be visi ted in order. Interesting present-day exhibits are 1n Room 100 and 1n the store. Every afternoon during centennial week the entire building will be open for inspection, between the hours of two and four. A reproduction of the original book room and of the first printing outfit, together with other interesting relics, may be found in the Exhibit Room on the first floor. A feature of the evening program at Music Hall will be the ex­ hibit of a five-reel series of moving pictures, copies of the scenario of which will be distributed to the audience. 9 In one small room in this building, at the corner of Fifth and Elm Streets, Martin Ruter opened the business of The Methodist Book Concern at Cincin­ nati, October 6, 1820. The Itinerary of The Methodist Book Concern In Cincinnati I 820-A small room, southeast corner Fifth and Elm Streets. I828-A small house on the north side of Shillito Place. I832-0n the west side of Walnut Street, below Baker, between Third and Fourth Streets. I836-0n the west side of Main Street, above Sixth Street. I839-At the southwest corner of Eighth and Main Streets. I87o-0n Fourth Street, near Home Street. I892-At Fourth and Home Streets. I9I6-On Plum Street, between Fourth and Fifth Streets. TO Depositories Chicago, Illinois Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Boston, Massachusetts Kansas City, Missouri Detroi t, Michigan San Francisco, California Salesroom: Portland, Oregon Editors REV. DAVID G. DOWNEY, D.D., LITT.D., LL.D.. ..... Book Editor REv. GEORGE ELLIOTT, D.D. .............. Methodist Review MR. JAMES R. JOY, LL.D. .. ................ ...... Christian Advocate REv. HENRY H. MEYER, D.D ...................... Sunday School Publications REv. JOHN J. WALLACE, D.D. ... ........... Pittsburgh Christian Advocate REv. ERNEST C. WAREING, LITT.D .................. Western Christian .-1dvocate REV. AUGUST J. BUCHER, D.D ..... The Christian Apologist and Home and Hearth REV. E. ROBB ZARING, D.D. .. ............. Northwestern Christian Advocate REV. CLAUDIUS B. SPENCER, D.D. " ..... ...... Central Christian .1dvocate REV. LORENZO H. KING, D.D.. .... ......... Southwestern Christian Advocate REV. E. L. MILLS. .. ........ ..... .. Pacific Christian Advocate REv. DAN B. BRUMMITT, D.D.. .. ......... The Epworth Herald REV. FRANCIS M. LARKIN, D.D. .......... California Christian Advocate REV. J. M. MELEAR, D.D ....................... Methodist Advocate-Journal Committees on Centennial Celebration EXECUTIVE-John H. Race, chairman; E. R. Graham, Robert H. Hughes, C. M. Van Pelt, Edward E. Shipley, Jesse R. Clark, Herbert Scott, Henry S. Henschen, members ex-officio; chairmen of the respective standing committees. DECORATION-Charles Supper, Susan Day, W. C. Price, Joseph A. Sikinger, Marie Thorpe. EXHIBITS-J. M. Thomssen, Wilma K. McFarland, John Venn, Anne Bun- tain, John Ri tt. INVITATIONS-A. J. Bucher, J. R. Stannah, George Eckert. PROGRAM-E. S. Lewis, P. J. Maveety, George D. Colter. PUBLICITY-L. C. Fritsche, W. C. Barclay, Stanley W. Wiant, Anna F. Walthall, Howard V. Henderson. RECEPTION-E. C. Wareing, H. H. Meyer, W. H. Wehrly, Annette P. Haskell, Bertha M. Gordon. REFRESHMENTS-J. W. Lee, Barbara Shuler, Eugene Law, Myrtle M. Clark, Frank Donovan. SOUVENIR-Frances Cochnower, W. H. Christie, Edith MacNutt, George Knell, Ida Angleman. USHERs-George J. Nieder, W. S. Longley, H. E. Bail, Louis T. Leavitt, Henry Schmid. In charge of the Historical Room H. C. Dickhaut E. S. Swormstedt Samuel W. Williams J. W. Zimm,erman William T. Vosmer I3 Publishing Agents MR. EDWIN R. GRAHAM, LITT.D., Resident Agent at New York, and in charge of general Department of Merchandise. THE REV. JOHN H. RACE, D.D., Resident Agent at Cincinnati, and in charge of general.Department of Manufacture. MR. ROBERT H. HUGHES, Resident Agent at Chicago, and in charge of Circula­ tion and Advertising. THE REV. GEORGE P. MAINS, D.D., Publishing Agent Emeritus. THE REV. HENRY C. JENNINGS, D.D., Publishing Agent Emeritus. Book Committee REV. WILLIAM .F. CONNER, D.D.. ................ Chairman REV. EZRA S. TIPPLE, D.D.. .. ................. .... .. .. .. Secretary MR. EDWARD E. SHIPLEy ................................. Assistant Secretar.y District Members District Name Conference I REV. G. C. DOUGLASS.. .. ..... Troy II REV. DORR FRANK DIEFENDORF.. .. ..... ... Newark III MR. WM. A. N OTMAN . .... Genesee IV REV. WM. F. CONNER, D.D.. .... Pittsburgh V REV. WM. H.-McMASTER, D.D.. ..... ..... .. .. North-East Ohio VI REV. THOS. H. KIAH.. .. ..... .............. Delaware VII MR. M. S. DAVAGE.. .. ......... ......... Louisiana Vln MR. J. LUTHER TAYLOR. /' . ............ Kansas IX HON. H. M. HAVNER. .. ... ................... Iowa X REV. CLAUDE C. HALL ........................... Southern Illinois XI MR. A. L. PARKER .. " .......................... Detroit XII MR. JOSEPH S. ULLAND.. .... .......... ....... Northern Minnesota XIII MR. CHARLES A. J. WALKER ...................... Central German XIV MR. FRANK S. WALLACE .......................... Sou thern California XV REV. CHARLES C. RARICK.. .. .. .......... Oregon Local Committee at New York MR. SILAS PEIRCE, Chairman REV. JAMES E. HOLMES, D.D., Secretary REV. EZRA S. TIPPLE, D.D. MR. FRANK A. HORNE MR. MORRIS S. DANIELS Local Committee at Cincinnati REV. CYRUS M. VAN PELT, D.D., Chairman MR. EDWARD E. SHIPLEY, Secretary REV. HERBERT SCOTT, D.D. MR. JESSE R. CLARK MR. HENRY S. HENSCHEN II H~OUS£ of ®oob ~onks" HIGH POINTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE METHODIST BOOK CONCERN ORGANIZATION The Methodist Book Concern was organized by the Conference which met in May, 1789, in .T ohn Street Church, New York City. The Conference was composed of twenty stalwart preachers. CAPITAL The Book Concern commenced on borrowed monev. Rev. John Dickins addressing the Conference· in John Street Church said: "Brethren, be of good courage and go forward; I have one hundred and twenty pounds sterling ($600), the savings of my life's labors. I will lend every shilling of it to the Methodist Book Concern until such time as it can be returned to me." FIRST AGENT The Conference thus addressed joyfully accepted the offered loan and John Dickins was elected "Book Steward". The term "Book Steward" was adopted from England and was used in this coun try un til 1820. John Dickins was a Methodist minister, a graduate of Eton, the historic English school. THE FIRST LOCATIO'N Although organized in N ew York, the first location of the Book Concern was in Philadelphia. This was 17 THE METHODIST BOOK CONCERN, CINCINNATI because Rev. John Dickins was assigned to a charge in that city. The Book Concern remained in Phila­ delphi a un til 18°4. THE FIRST BOOK The first book published by The Methodist Book Concern was "The Chris6an's Pattern", an abridge­ ment of Thomas a Kempis' "Imitation of Christ". The abridgement was made by John Wesley. MOVED To NEW YORK By a vote of the General Conference, which met in Baltimore in May, 1804., the Book Concern was re­ moved to New York. It was established in a small room on Gold Street, and Rev. Ezekiel Cooper was the agent. He served also as the pastor of the Methodist church in Brooklyn. LOCATION IN NEW YORK After a period of eighty-five years in which the Book Concern occupied a number of different locations, -in 1889, its centennial year, the Concern was housed in its present well-appointed home at 150 Fifth Ave­ nue. THE WESTERN HOUSE The Western House was organized October 6, 1820, as a branch of the New York House, and located in Cincinnati. Its history began in a single small room on the corner of Fifth and Elm Streets. PRESENT LOCATION After a period of ninety-six years, in which there were seven different locations in Cincinnati, the Book Concern entered its present new home in 1916, and four years later observed, as this vol-ume shows, its One Hundredth Anniversary. 18 ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF PROGRESS AN IMPORTANT ACTION An important transaction of the past one hundred years was the unification of the Eastern and Western branches which was legalized by the action of the Gen­ eral Conference of 1912. The plan of this important action in its final form was presented to the General Conference as one of the reports of the Book Con­ cern Committee, of which Committee the present Pub­ lishing Agent, Dr. John H. Race, was the Chairman. The official notation appears in the Discipline of 1920, Chapter Seven-"The Book Concern". THE PRESENT ASSETS The pres en t assets of The Methodist Book Concern alTIOunt to $7,000,000.

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