Wild Flowers of New York

Book title: Wild Flowers of New York 1912
Author: Chester A. Reed
Editor: Mohonk Salesrooms
Publication year: 1912
Copyright: July 1, 1912, Chas. K. Reed, Worcester, Mass.
Format: 5 x 7 inches
Type of cover: Artisanal type cardboard cover
Number of pages: 51 pages, 40 color drawings
Retail price in 1912: ??
Mailing cost:??

The book accompanied the book “Wild Birds of New York,” published a few months before.

The book cover seemed to use the paper marbling technique, which resulted in a unique cover. The book was bound by staples in the middle, but a decorative string on the side of the cover made it look like an artisanal binding.

It features 40 descriptions of the most common plants in the region.
The book was sold in a decorative box, which added a special touch to the content to encourage buying it as a gift or to keep it as a souvenir of a trip to the region. ⁽¹⁾

The Mohonk Salesrooms ⁽²⁾ owned the copyrights for the collection in the State of New York. The information was included in a letter of partnership terms between Charles K. Reed and “Doubleday, Page & Company” on November 19, 1912.

At the same time as the publication of “Wild Flower of New Work,” in July 1912, Charles K. Reed, Chester A. Reed’s father, published “Wild Flower of New England” using the same content.

It leads us to thinking that the original idea to publish a gift book came from the Mohonk Salesrooms. That could explain why Charles granted the retail rights in the State of New York to the organization, while keeping the right to use the same content in an identical book aiming at another tourist region.

Charles K. Reed was a businessman. If he owned the idea, he would probably not have granted the retail rights to satisfy an organization without gaining a strategic advantage. No documentation mentioned a negotiation between both parties, as was the case with Doubleday, Page & Company.

You can consult the slideshow of the presentation.