S.C. Griggs and W.C. Flagg: Publisher and Book Collector History

Here is an interesting cover with a nice advertising cameo in the upper-left corner for Chicago publisher S.C. Griggs and Co. As a bonus, the addressee, with a little research, provides additional interesting book-related history.

Founder Samuel C. Griggs (1819–1897) started the business in Chicago in 1844 as W.W. Barlow & Co. and a few years later became S.C. Griggs & Co. The publishing concern grew into a major distributor of literature and educational texts in the Midwest and Western states. Tragedy struck twice with devastating fires that wiped out their inventory in 1868 and again in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. No doubt, the second fire factored in Griggs’ decision to sell his share of the company to Jansen, McClurg & Co. the next year. That firm evolved into the well-known A.C. McClurg & Co. The Griggs cameo on the cover helps with dating the cover. As the postmark is illegible, the cover was posted prior to 1872, the year Griggs sold his company. Notation in the lower-left portion of the cover possibly indicates the year as 1864, as the Civil War and President Lincoln's life were nearing an end.

The addressee was Willard Cutting Flagg (1829-1878), an avid book collector on agricultural and political topics, as well as Illinois history and the West. When he wasn't collecting books, pamphlets, and other materials, he was collecting taxes. President Abraham Lincoln appointed him in 1862 to the position of Collector of Internal Revenue for the 12th District of Illinois. “Collector” under his name on the cover may refer to his job but more likely it’s for his avocation as book collector, given the correspondence was from S.C. Griggs & Co.

A Yale graduate (Class of 1854), he was active in the 1856 and 1860 presidential campaigns. He remained influential in the Union cause throughout the Civil War, often corresponding with high-ranking officials regarding patronage and military appointments. He later served in the Illinois State Senate from 1869 to 1873.

Back to his book collection… I was interested in where his library of books and other materials were dispersed. Flagg was known to bind and collect his personal papers and pamphlets like books and they appear to have been dispersed among archives at the University of Illinois, of which Flagg was a founding trustee, and the Illinois History and Lincoln Collections library, also at the university, which house the Flagg Family Papers (1819–1948) containing his political pamphlets, diaries, and extensive correspondence during his time as a Lincoln appointee. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) preserves his personal journals, expense books, and agricultural account books in the SIUE Flagg Collection, focusing on the family's regional history and farm operations. Some of Flagg’s personal letters and genealogical records remain in his home region of Madison County, Illinois at the Madison County Historical Society. His collection of standard published books was mostly absorbed into these university library systems or kept by descendants. Somewhere in there, maybe a title or two exists from S.C. Griggs & Co.


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