WEBB COMPANY:

The Webb Company was founded in 1882 as the Webb Publishing Company when Edward A. Webb, a Fargo, North Dakota newspaperman, purchased The Northwestern Farmer and Breeder, a Monthly Journal for the Farm, Orchard, and Household. The title was shortened to The Northwestern Farmer in March, 1893, and changed to The Farmer in September, 1898.

The company moved to St. Paul, Minnesota in 1890. A book division was created in 1894; a Winona, Minnesota newspaper entitled The Farmer's Wife was purchased in 1903; and the firm began printing telephone directories in 1908. The Farmer's Wife was sold in the mid-1930s.

In 1904 Webb was joined by two associates, Albert H. Harmon and Horace C. Klein. When Webb died in 1915, these men took control of the company and eventually passed the company ownership on to their sons, Horace D. Klein and Reuel Harmon.

The company continued to diversify and add publications, eventually becoming one of the largest printing and publishing firms in the nation. It purchased and merged Farm, Stock, and Home with The Farmer in 1929; The Farmer and Breeder, a Sioux Falls, South Dakota publication, was added in 1930; the Minnesota Farmer was purchased in 1960; and the Dakota Farmer was acquired in January 1980.

The company built a new plant in 1962, which consolidated its operations under one roof. Its common stock was offered to the public in 1972 and its name was shortened to Webb Company in 1973. By the late 1970s the company had expanded its operations to include four major divisions: Publishing, Creative Communications, Webb Printing Division, and Midwest Printing Company.

After 100 years of independent operation the Webb Company was purchased in November 1986 by British Printing & Communications Corp. In 1989 the firm was sold to Intertec Publishing and became Webb Division, Intertec Publishing.

Historical data was taken from the collection and from Webb Division, Intertec Publishing.

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Organizational records documenting the history of a St. Paul (Minn.) printing and publishing company, which specialized in agricultural publications.

Records include correspondence, legal records (1976, 1984-1987), brochures, photographs, slides, poetry (1955-1960), press releases, bibliographies, booklets, magazine articles, newspaper clippings, and printed matter.

The records reflect the Webb Company's history from its founding by Edward A. Webb in 1882 through its sale to a British printing firm in 1986. A large portion of the collection is related to the history, management, and content of the firm's primary publication, "The Farmer" magazine.

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These documents are organized into the following sections:

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Webb Company Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: 15,010; 15,623; 15,782

Processing Information:

Processed by: Frank Hennessy, March 1995; Additional material cataloged by: Lara Friedman-Shedlov, September 2001

Catalog ID number: 09-00039933

This collection was formerly cataloged as P2056.

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Includes biographical data related to Edward A. Webb; summaries of a series of orientation sessions describing the operation of the firm's various departments, entitled "The ABC's of Webb Publishing"; a group of papers related to the activities and history of the Agricultural Publishers Association; two newsletters covering topics of interest to Webb employees; and correspondence, photographs, a narrative history, and printed matter related to activities surrounding Webb's 1982 centennial celebration.

There is a group of correspondence and legal records related to two legal disputes involving the company: the first resulting from an article published in The Farmer (Oct. 6, 1984) that identified Wallace C. Kemper as a defendant in an Illinois loan fraud case, the second involving a defamation claim brought against Webb by Alexander Gaus, Jr. (1984-1987).

Also included in the collection is an extensive series of correspondence (1942-1947) between Theodor Broch, a Norwegian writer and former mayor of the Norwegian town of Narvik, and Paul Hillestad, who was manager of Webb at the time. The correspondence concerned publication of Broch's book, The Mountains Wait, an eyewitness account of the Nazi invasion and occupation of northern Norway during World War II. There is also correspondence (1942-1945) between Hillestad and Rockwell Kent, the illustrator of the book.

Other papers include photographs of the Webb Publishing Company's home office, press, and bindery (1920s-1940s?) and newspaper clippings and articles pertaining to Robert Maxwell, the chairman of British Printing & Communications Corp., and the sale of the Webb Company in 1986.

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Includes histories of The Farmer, The Farmer's Wife, and The Dakota Farmer; a copy of a study conducted by Butler Typo-Design Research Center and correspondence associated with a new format for the magazine (1961-1965); and articles, correspondence, floor plans, slides, and photographs related to the magazine's "Country Kitchen" which was used by the household department for testing recipes and demonstrating kitchen planning and decoration ideas. There is also a group of correspondence and newspaper clippings related to The Farmer Protective Association, a plan administered by the magazine which offered a $25.00 reward for recovery of members' stolen property, a poultry marking system, and an "action line" that functioned as a consumer protection service for members.

Other papers include staff biographies; press releases; photographs; a list of articles published by the magazine's household department; a card index of books found in the magazine's library; a booklet entitled Facts for Advertisers, which contains a classified list of the magazine's advertisers; correspondence describing the Lawton Seed Corn Tester, which was given as a premium with subscriptions in the late 1920s and early 1930s; and correspondence related to the magazine's trademark registration (1976).

There is material related to articles published in the magazine, including poetry from a column edited by Eloise Wade Hackett entitled "Songs From the Spring" (1955-1960); photocopies of articles from the magazine's agricultural careers series (1971-1973); and a group of correspondence and articles related to the potential of Jerusalem artichokes as an alcohol fuel source and the investigation of fraud allegedly being committed by AEFS Inc., an artichoke processor (1983). Background material on corn husking contests (1934-1987), combine development, and the "Farmfest" in Lake Crystal, Minnesota (1972, 1976) is also included.

The magazine's photograph file is arranged by topic and largely undated, however the bulk appear to have been taken during the first half of the twentieth century. Topics include early farming, farm machinery, livestock, and the Minnesota State Fair.

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The Farmer and The Farmer's Wife are separately cataloged in the Minnesota Historical Society serials collection.

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Printing industry -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Publishers and publishing -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Agriculture publishing -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Magazine design.

Agriculture -- Periodicals.

Agriculture -- Vocational guidance.

Agricultural machinery -- Photographs.

Livestock -- Photographs.

Kitchens -- Designs and plans.

Corn -- Husking -- Competitions -- Minnesota.

Jerusalem artichoke -- Minnesota.

Renewable energy sources -- Minnesota.

Periodicals -- Publishing -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Persons:

Broch, Theodor, 1904-.

Gaus, Alexander.

Hackett, Eloise Wade.

Kemper, Wallace C.

Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971.

Maxwell, Robert, 1923-.

Webb, E. A. (Edward A.), 1857-1915.

Organizations:

Agricultural Publishers Association (Chicago, Ill.).

American Energy Farming Systems.

British Printing and Communications Corp. (London, England).

Butler Typo-Design Research Center (Mendota, Ill.).

Farmer Protective Association (Saint Paul, Minn.).

Minnesota State Fair -- Photograph collections.

Places:

Saint Paul (Minn.) -- Industries

Document Types:

Poetry.

Photographs.

Titles:

Farmer (Saint Paul, Minn.).

Farmer's wife (Saint Paul, Minn.).

Dakota farmer (Aberdeen, S.D.).

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