The Patterson Publishers

Episode Six in the Spalding Saga

(this section is under construction)

 

 

NOTABLE PRINTERS OF EARLY PITTSBURGH

 

 

By

Virginia E. Luckhardt

 

 

 

A study submitted in
partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of 
Master of Library Science

 

 

 

Pittsburgh

Carnegie Library School

1949

 

22

 


WILLIAM EICHBAUM, JUNIOR 
1787 -- 1866


   The biography of William Eichbaum is inspiring -- a

compound of integrity and intelligence -- and it belongs almost

entirely to Pittsburgh scenes and events. Born at Monte Cenis,

Burgindy, he came to old Fort Pitt as a boy of ten, when the

town was an outpost of civilization containing only ninety-

seven houses. He stayed seventy years and watched a thrilling

expansion of industry and commerce wherein his own enterprise

played no little part.1 His father, William Peter Eichbaum,
 
was a native of Altenach, Saxony, and an old world craftsman

in glass. So great was Herr Eichbaum's skill that Louis XVI

invited him to assist in establishing glass manufactories in

Burgundy, where he took his English wife and eight children

to live until shortly before the French Revolution.2 Emigrat-

ing to the United States in 1793, the family finally (1797)

crossed the Allegheny Mountains to contribute their knowledge

and industry to two new and promising businesses in Pittsburgh --

glass and printing.3 The father was employed by O'Hara and

Craig to manage a glassworks,4 and young William was set free

to discover his destiny in the shop of Cramer & Spear. Typical

of the highest types of immigrants who came to these

shores, the Eichbaums brought the best of Europe to plant in

the virgin soil of America.


 
   There are many proofs of the maximum "like attracts like,"

and the attraction of Zadock Cramer for William Eichbaum is one

more. Cramer was establishing himself as a publisher of

 



  

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culture and sensibility in the early 1800's, and Eichbaum

became the "active youth of good morals and respectable character"

whom Cramer hired as an apprentice (1803).5 Their natures

must have been entirely congenial, for their association con-

tinued until Cramer's death in 1814, with no record of conflict

or difficulty. William served the first seven years as an

apprentice bookbinder, and in 1810 he was taken into the firm

as a full-fledged partner.6 At twenty-three years of age he

claimed membership in one of the finest printing houses in the

west, a sound beginning for a distinguished career. His

social relations with the senior partner of Cramer, Spear &

Eichbaum were also cordial: before the age of steamboats the

teo traveled to Louisville in an open boat, acquainting them-

selves with each other and with the country into which they

were to send their presswork.7 Any influence exceted by Cramer

on the newcomer would have been to Eichbaum's advantage, for

of all the early printers, Zadock Cramer was the best suited to

develop the fine qualities of character which were Eichbaum's

by inheritance.


 
   The untimely death of Cramer ended this profitable enter-

prise, and Eichbaum stayed with Spear only until a formal

disolution of partnership could be arranged (1817). Two years

previously, William Eichbaum had married Rebecca Johnston,

daughter of John Johnston,9 thereby allying himself with

another printing family of virtue and ability. One direct

result of this alliance was his brief publishing connection

with his brother-in-law, Samuel R. Johnston. After nineteen

 



  

24

 
years in printing, Eichbaum's interests shifted to business

and civic affairs. Success in journalism often carries with

it an intimate knowledge of other fields of endeavor and often

fits men particularly well for careers in public service. The

awareness and perspective or reporters and editors sooner or

later give them a "Don Quixote" complex -- a desire to defend

the right as private citizens, even without the support of the

press. Fired by concern for the prosperity of Pittsburgh,

Eighbaum invested freely in commercial ventures: a foundey,

a commission business, and a bakery.10


 William Eichbaum from long habit was
accustomed to drop in (to Johnson &
Stockton) he having been a former proprie-
tor of the house, and earlier in life an
employee of Zadock Cramer, its founder. In
stature he towered above all of whom I here
speak; nor in this alone was his promin-
ence due. He was a man much sought after,
and with no need to push himself into
prominence, which he never did. But few
men of his day were called to as many
local positions as were filled by him . . .
no name figures so frequently on boards
of corporations, while in many his stands
at the head . . . He was long the chief
of the fire department, the idol of all
firemen, who lived long after his locks had been
white as snow were unwilling to release
him . . . . He was a man of large and varied
information, of excellent judgment, both
kind and pure of heart, and ever ready to
make sacrifices on behalf of others.11


Public offices gravitated to him as well.


   Mr. Eichbaum enjoyed the confidence
and esteem of the public in a remarkable
degree. He was of the committee appointed
by the citizens for the reception of
Lafayette on his visit to Pittsburgh in
1824 . . . . From 1828 to 1833 he held the
position of postmaster of Pittsburgh . . . .
He was elected to and retained in each



 



  

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branch of the city councils as long as
eligible, and then transferred, by the
votes of the people, alternately for
twenty-two consecutive years. In 1858
he was elected city treasurer, and held
office until his decease, in 1866.12


   In the midst of his successes, Eichbaum suffered a reversal

which put to the test his ability to accept misfortune.

The great fire of April 10, 1845, wiped out nearly everything

he owned, a sizeable fortune, and cast him back on the resources

of his books, his friends, "a mind stored with principles and

facts." and "large and practical views of divine providence."13

Though his financial recovery was slow, his insistence on

adequate fire protection for others was the typical reaction

he expressed. Eichbaum possessed numerous trade secrets on

which he could call to bolster his income. At one point in

his life he had befriended an expert bookbinder from the old

world who knew the secret of faint-ruled letter-paper. Bound

by his profession not to reveal the secret except for a price,

the old man told Eichbaum to mix with his ink "a certain small

part of a very large animal." Eichbaum ingeniously inter-

preted the advice to mean oxgall, and thus happened on a

valuable trade secret.14 With an inventive turn of mind, a man

can make a fortune at will -- and lose one without too much

remorse.

 
   Eichbaum's life resembles a fictional account of the

rewards of hard work and upright behavior. In the days of the

frontier, a craftsman could truly carve out for himself the

career he desired; but the influence of character and ethics

 



  

26

 
on business success were much the same as they are today.

Because of his enlightened conscience William Eichbaum

deserves to stand as an example to his profession and as an

ideal for those who would be his imitators.

 

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ROBERT PATTERSON 
1775--1854

   Robert Patterson offered Hugh Henry Brackenridge the only

real competition he received at home in the field of letters.

Both men were popular writers of the day, Patterson serving

the muse of poetry while Brackenridge authored the first fic-

tlon printed west of the Alleghenies, Naturally, enough, both

men were also interested in the printing business, on which

their fame depended, and took direct measures to establish the

trade more firmly in Pittsburgh. Because of that fact, the

life story of Robert Patterson belongs with the history of the

western press as well as with the history of western belles

lettres.
 
   He was born on April 1, 1773, in Saratoga County, New

York, the son of Joseph and Jane Moak Patterson.1 Part of the

Patterson clan already lived in Philadelphia when Joseph

Patterson brought his family to the area around Canonsburg,

Pennsylvania. The new Canonsburg Academy had just opened; in

fact, lessons were conducted on the lawn while the buildings

were being finished.2 Taking advantage of the opportunity,

"Robert Patterson was the first student to recite at Canons-

burg Academy, in 1791, 'under the shade of same sassafras

bushes, growing in a worm fence,' on the banks of Chartiers

Creek." 3  As his uncle (also Robert Patterson) was professor

of mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania, 4 it seemed

logical to send the boy east to finish his education -- as well

as to place him under a watchful eye, perhaps the latter 


 

 


33
 

insinuation is unfair, for young Robert had decided to enter

the ministry. while he journeyed across the mountains in 1794,

he met George Washington on his way to Pittsburgh to quell the

Whiskey Rebellion. 5  Feelings were to run high and political

tensions increase before Robert's return west.
 
   After graduation, Patterson toured the countryside for

four years and was then licensed to preach, his first pastorates

being in the vicinity of Erie, Pennsylvania. 6  Almost thirty

years of age, he doubtlessly eked out a scant living in the

pulpit, but he was sincerely devoted to his calling. As was

the custom in earlier days, the ministry invariably supplied

presidents for educational institutions; and the thriving

Pittsburgh Academy offered Patterson the president's chair in

1807 for a term of three years. 7 The position was no sinecure;

teaching duties gave him frequent contacts with the students,

among them Samuel Reed Johnston. At the same time, and until

1833, Patterson preached at the Highland Presbyterian Church, 8

 
and in his spare moments be began to write the poetry which

earned him a local reputation. Native talent plus the best

education then available in the new world made him truly a

man of letters in a generally unlettered era.  

   At the conclusion of his term at the Academy, Patterson

decided to indulge his interest in books, and in addition to

earn himself a living, by venturing into bookselling with John

Hopkins as a partner. 9  Being a minister and a professor, he

had a fine background for editing and a penchant for choosing

religious and cultural works for publication, At first in 

 

 


34

 

competition with the well-founded bookstore of Zadok Cramer,

Patterson and Hopkins had the trade to themselves when Cramer

left for the South. Their advertisements in the Gazette were

modest and formal: "Gentlemen who wish to subscribe for this

excellent and complete set of Dr. Johnson's Works, are invited

to set their names on a subscription paper in the Bookstore

of Patterson and Hopkins." 10  In spite of every evidence of a

successful enterprise, the partnership dissolved "by mutual

consent" in 1812, and the firm became "R. & J. Patterson." 11

An amusing note was sounded on the title page of a book pub-

lished by Patterson about 1813: "The Honest Man's Almanack:

this almanack contains nothing to encourage the evil practices

of liars, drunkards, rogues, lazy fellows, infidels, tories,

cowards, bad husbands, and old bachelors." 12 Sermons are not

necessarily confined to churches, as Patterson evidently was

aware. He made his publishing house fulfill a double purpose. 

   Canonsburg gave Patterson not only his education, but

also his wife, Jane Canon was the daughter of Colonel John

Canon, founder of the town, whom Patterson had probably met

during his years at school. 13 Although born to prominence,

Jane must have been proud to be courted by one of the more

promising young men of the time -- minister, scholar, and bud-

ding poet. Poetry and courtship are related elements, but

Patterson did not become a full-fledged poet until the publi-

cation of his book of poems in 1817, 14  before which date he

had submitted several short verse-pieces to the Gazette. 15

Under the pen-name of "The Recluse," he wrote copiously and

 

 


35
 

took his efforts seriously, at one time to the extent of publish-

ing two columns in defense of a poem that had been rejected.16
 
The quality of his prose indicates self-conscious pedantry:
 


This circumstance, though trivial, leades 
me to exult in having selected the Two Roses,
as the first victim for immolation upon the 
shrine of taste; for in the first place, it 
demolishes every pretext of suspected allu-
sions, which the master of the sacrifice has
conjured up from the lurid charnel-house of
egotism; and, in the second place, it relieves
me from an implied engagement to furnish fresh
offerings for his reeking altar. 17


The eternal outraged author! The criticism of Solon Buck is

justified by Patterson's outburst:

... very little of the material in the
early papers could pass as belles-lettres.
Prose was now too stilted, now too rhetori-
cal, now far too flowery in comparison with
the better prose of the day; poetry often
dripped with sentimentality or swelled with
flatulent bombast ... 18 


Patterson is no more guilty than the others who encouraged and 

employed artificiality of style.

   In 1840 Robert Patterson retired from his multiple duties

and went to the country to live. He wisely withdrew while he

was still prominent and still hearty enough to enjoy his lei-

sure. Fourteen years later, on September 5, 1854, 19 he died,

a distinguished contributor to the literature of the frontier. 

 

 

 

 


36
 


SILAS ENGLES
? -- 1827
 
For every man of the stature of Zadok Cramer or William

Eichbaum, there are hundreds who strive toward the same goals

and fall short of attainment. Some, however, advance farther

than others, although the glimpses of their activities along

the way are tantalizingly inadequate for the complete recon-

struction of their personalities or accomplishments. Such is

the case with Silas Engles. The records yield a partial

framework of facts on which it is interesting, if not always

rewarding, to try to fit some substance.
 
   The earliest date mentioned for Silas Engles is the year

1807, when, according to Brigham's bibliography of newspapers,

he became owner of the weekly Republican Advocate in Frederick-

town, Maryland. 1  The unusual spelling of his surname seems to

obviate the chance that there would be two men of that name

in the printing profession in the early part of the nineteenth

century. Therefore Silas Engles made his way north and west

to Pittsburgh within the next five years, for the year 1812

finds him launching the Pioneer as the first literary magazine

in Pittsburgh. 2 Engles had the inspiration but not the prac-

tical approach necessary to continue publication, and the

Pioneer expired within nine months. 3

 
   Who is to say what influence those few issues had on

Zadok Cramer's western Gleaner, a magazine of much the same

intent, which appeared one year later? The mistakes of others

are often stepping-stones for those who can learn by observation.

 

 


37
 

   Perhaps Engles was the pioneer printer in the field of cul-

tural periodicals in Pittsburgh, as the title of his magazine

suggests. It was an excellent publication, small in size and

well set up. The contents were rather ponderously but cor-

rectly written, and treated of things academic ... Contribu-

tions were unsigned ... there is no other evidence of a criti-

cal literary spirit in the city." 4 The Reverend David Graham

edited the work, 5 and a prospectus defining the magazine was

printed in the Gazette for November 15, 1811. It was "to con-

sist of a series of papers, Liberal, Critical, Literary, Moral,

and Theological. Literary friends are requested to contribute

their aid, in what, it is hoped, they will pronounce a laud-

able attempt to cultivate society." 6  Addison's moral purpose

had crossed the Atlantic! 

   The short life of the Pioneer left Engles with no major

publication, although the entry "Engles S. & Co. printers,

Wood, between 3d and 4th" in the city directory for 1813, 7

 
indicates that the house still functioned. In 1815
 

a most alarming fire broke out in the 
hatter's shop of Mr. Church, on the East 
side of Wood, between Third and Fourth 
Streets, which before it was extinguished 
destroyed the whole range of fine brick 
houses between the two Streets, besides 
a number of frame and back buildings. 8


   Engles was forced to make the first of various moves, this

time to Wood Street above Diamond Alley, where he resumed his-

printing within a week. Included in his advertisement of the

new location is a single note of personalia:

 

 


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S. Engles, Printer ... takes this 
method of expressing his gratitude to  
his fellow-citizens, for their unpar-   
alelled (sic) exertions in saving the  
principal part of his materials from  
the destructive Fire on Friday morning,  
the 27th ult. and sincerely hopes they 
may never need a reciprocation of the  
favour. He earnestly calls on those  
indebted to him, to settle their  
accounts without delay.9 


Silas Engles here emerges as a person with a mild sense of

humor, a grateful spirit, and a complete absence of self-pity.

This taste of a personality whets the appetite for more, but

in vain.

   The new location, or perhaps the inventory necessitated

by the fire, stimulated Engles to propose the publication of

another paper under the title which he had used in Maryland,

the Republican Advocate.10 The newspaper never materialized --

or was never recorded. Instead, Engles moved again, "to

Liberty Street, nearly opposite Fifth Street,"11 the location

which he was occupying when he entered into partnership with

Ephraim Pentland to print the Statesman. Established as the

successor to the Commonwealth, the Statesman entered the field

on May 9, 1818, for a run of two years.12 Engles printed for

Pentland until November 21, 1818, when John Little took over

the task for one year.13 In 1820 the name of Pentland was

given as both printer and editor,14 and the printing office

of S. Engles was again moved, in April, 1819, to the Diamond

behind the Court House.15  This central situation may mean

that Engles had found it more profitable to print smaller

assignments such as An Act Incorporating the City of Pittsburgh, 


 

 


39
 

for his name was no longer associated with any periodical

publication. The final record, his death date, was entered

in Cramer's Almanack as July 17, 1827.16

   These few facts about Silas Engles compose an elusive

picture of the man at best. Either his talents were never

realized or the data concerning him have been neglected and

buried. His youthful activities tend to suggest high purpose

and vision, which the years too often have a way of defeating.

 

 
Eichbaum

BIBLIOGRAPHIC NOTES

 

 
 1. History of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. v. 2.
     Chicago, A. Warner, 1889, p. 218.
 2. Ibid. p. 216.
 3. Loc. cit.
 4. Dahlinger, C. W. Pittsburgh; a sketch of its early social life
     New York, G. P. Putnam, 1916. p. 41.
 5. Ibid. p. 189.
 6. Ibid. p. 188.
 7. History of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. op. cit. v. 2.
     p. 216.
 8. Mercury. August 1, 1817. p. 1, col, 2.
 9. Johnston, W. G. Life and reminiscences from birth to

     manhood of Wm. G. Johnston. W. G. Johnston, 1901.
     p. 10.
10. History of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. op. cit. 
     v. 2, p. 217.
 
11. Johnston, W. G. op. cit. p. 202, 203.
12. History of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. op. cit. 
     v. 2, p. 217.
13. Loc. cit.

14. Ibid.

 
1. Brigham, C. S. History and bibliography of American news-
     papers, 1690-1820. v. 1. Worcester, Massachusetts,
     American Antiquarian Society, 1947. p. 265.
 2. Buck, S. J. and Buck, E. H. The planting of civilization in
     western Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh 
     Press, 1939. p. 385.
 3. Booth, R. E. "American periodicals 1800-1825," p. 162
     (In Library Journal. v. 71, p. 156-63. Feb. 1, 1946)
 4. Anderson, E. P. "The intellectual life of Pittsburgh, 1786-
     1836, part 5: Literature." p. 111. (In Western Pennsyl-
     vania historical magazine. v. 14, p. 92-114. April 1931)
 5. Field, A. G. "The press in western Pennsylvania to 1812."
     p. 236. (In Western Pennsylvania historical magazine. 
     v. 20, p. 231-64. December 1937)
 6. Gazette. November 15, 1811. p. 3. col. 5.
 7. City directory. (Typewritten excerpt from R. & J. Patterson's
     Honest man's extra almanac. Pennsylvania room, Carnegie
     Library of Pittsburgh) p. 2.
 8. Gazette. October 28, 1815. p. 3. col. 1.
 9. Gazette. November 4, 1815. p. 3. col. 2.
10. Gazette. December 2, 1815. p. 3. col. 4.
11. Gazette. March 30, 1816. p. 3. col. 4.
12. Brigham, C. S. op. cit. v. 2, p. 967.
13. Determined by checking imprints of the Statesman.
14. Brigham, C. S. op. cit. v. 2, p. 967.
15. Statesman. April 10, 1819. p. 3, col. 5.
16. Cramer's magazine almanak for , , , 1828. Pittsburgh,
     Cramer & Spear (1829) p. 72.

HISTORY

E R I E   C O U N T Y,

P E N N S Y L V A N I A.

I L L U S T R A T E D.

PRESBYTERY  OF  ERIE;