Consolidation was the primary topic of conversation in industry circles 132 years ago. The matter at hand was the plan to merge four school book publishers into the American Book Co. Amid cries that the merger would create a monopoly, executives argued that it was the only way companies in that segment of the business could remain profitable.

From the Archive: April 26, 1890 by Publishers Weekly on Scribd

For the complete article in the Publishers Weekly archive, go to publishersweekly.com/apr-26-1890.