The McGraw-Hill Book Company was formed on July 1, 1909, by a consolidation of the book departments of the McGraw Publishing Company and the Hill Publishing Company, then separate publishers of engineering journals and books. For over twenty years, prior to the formation of the McGraw-Hill Book Company, the several journals controlled by Mr. McGraw and Mr. Hill (now published by the McGraw-Hill Company, Inc., a separate organization) had been producing books in their special fields; but the publication of technical books had not been brought to the high standard of technical journals.

From the beginning we adopted the slogan, Better Books in Text and Manufacture. It was evident to the men who had brought the leading technical journals of the country from comparative insignificance to positions of influence that there was need of a new technical literature—a literature for classroom and reference which should adequately supplement their periodicals.

Our first efforts were largely in the field of engineering, but presently we set new goals for ourselves. By processes which seemed natural to us, we have extended our publishing not only into the fields of chemistry, physics, mathematics and English, with a view always of supplying better fundamental textbooks for students, but also into the fields of agriculture, business administration and economics. Similarly our range of publishing has broadened from the somewhat restricted field of applied science, to include numerous works of high standard dealing with pure science.

In all these fields the aim has been, not only to produce a better grade of text and reference book, but to put behind each book a selling organization so competent that the maximum market, both in this country and abroad, would be reached. Without this the possibility of persuading important men, in all branches of science, to produce textbooks seemed futile, for the author's return must always be in proportion to the distribution.

The association with the journals of the McGraw-Hill Company, which we represent in all matters pertaining to the production of books, brings us into close contact with the widest range of engineering and industrial activities. The circulations of these journals include the leading engineers and executives of the world. The list follows:

• American Machinist
• Electric Railway Journal
• Electrical World
• Engineering and Mining Journal-Press
• Coal Age
• Engineering News-Record
• Power
• Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering
• Electrical Merchandising
• Industrial Engineer
• Bus Transportation
• Journal of Electricity
• Ingenieria Internacional

From these journals we draw both editorial guidance and marketing power. They are the "natural resources" which simplified the problems of our early years and made possible our rapid development and growth, until today, by the application of the same editorial standards and marketing methods, in broader fields, we are able to offer to the author of technical books a highly developed machinery of publication and distribution.