Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/487

 HA HARPER AND BROTHERS college in 1785, studied law in Charleston, S. C., settled in the interior of the state, and be- came known by a series of newspaper articles on the proposed change in the state constitu- tion. He was soon after elected to the legis- lature, and in 1794 to congress, where he sup- xrted the administrations of Washington and Adams, and was regarded as one of the jaders of the federal party. In 1801 he re- tired from congress, and, having married a .ighter of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, re- loved to Baltimore. At the Maryland bar he tained great eminence, and was associated nth Joseph Hopkinson as counsel for Judge Jhase of the supreme court, when under im- ichment, the trial resulting in an acquittal, [arch 5, 1805. In 1815 he was elected United States senator. In 181 9-'20 he visited Europe, id on his return resumed the practice of his >rofession. Selections from his writings and 3hes were published in Baltimore in 1814. HARPER AND BROTHERS, a firm of American rinters and publishers, originally consisting of TAMES, born in 1795, died in New York, March L7, 1869 ; JOHN, born in 1797 ; JOSEPH WESLEY, isually called Wesley, born in 1801, died in Brooklyn, Feb. 14, 1870 ; and FLETCHEE, born in 1806. They were the sons of a farmer at ewtown, Long Island. At the age of 16 Fames and John were apprenticed to differ- it printers in New York. Having concluded apprenticeship, they established them- slvesin business, at first only printing for book- sllers, but soon began to publish upon their >wn account. Wesley and Fletcher Harper rere apprenticed to their elder brothers, and they became of age were admitted as part- ners; and the style of the firm was about 1825 changed from " J. and J. Harper " to " Harper and Brothers." They soon became the leading publishers in America. In 1853 their estab- lishment occupied nine contiguous buildings in Cliff and Pearl streets, filled with costly ma- chinery and books. On Dec. 10 of that year the whole was burned to the ground, in conse- quence of a workman engaged in repairs hav- ing thrown a burning paper into a tank of ben- zine, which he mistook for water. Most of leir stereotype plates were stored in vaults, md were saved ; but the loss in buildings, ma- chinery, and books amounted to $1,000,000, >on which there was only $250,000 insurance, next day they hired temporary premises, employed the principal printers and bind- in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia in ^producing their books. Before the ruins of fire could be cleared away the plans for leir new edifice were prepared. It covers about half an acre of ground, extending from Cliff street to Franklin square in Pearl street, and, including cellars, the structure is seven stories high. It is absolutely fire-proof, and constitutes probably the most complete pub- lishing establishment in the world, all the op- erations in the preparation and publication of a book being carried on under a single roof, HARPER'S FERRY 473 and the regular number of employees in the premises being about 1,000 of both sexes. Be- sides the books published, they issue three il- lustrated periodicals : " Harper's Magazine," established in 1850, a monthly, devoted to literature and the arts; "Harper's Weekly," established in 1857, devoted to literature and topics of the day ; and " Harper's Bazar," estab- lished in 1867, devoted to the fashions, litera- ture, and social life. James Harper was in 1844 elected mayor of the city of New York for the succeeding year, and he was subsequently put forward for the governorship of the state ; but he preferred to conduct the business of the firm rather than engage in public life. In March, 1869, while driving in Fifth avenue, his horses took fright, and he was thrown from his carriage ; he was taken up insensible, and died two days afterward. Wesley Harper, who for many years had charge of the literary department, died after a long illness. After the death of his two brothers John Harper withdrew from active business ; and the firm was reorganized by the admission of several of the sons of the original partners. These, after receiving a careful education, several of them at Columbia college, entered the house, < each serving a regular apprenticeship in some branch of the business. The firm now (1874) consists of John Harper and his two sons, John Wesley, born in 1830, and Joseph Abner, born in 1833 ; Fletcher Harper, and his son Fletch- er, jr., born in 1829; Philip J. A., son of James, born in 1824 ; and Joseph Wesley, son of Wesley, born in 1830. HARPER'S FERRY, a town of Jefferson co., West Virginia, on the Potomac river, which forms the boundary of the state with Mary- land, and at the mouth of the Shenandoah, where the united streams fo'rce their passage through the Blue Ridge, 45 m. N. W.of Wash- ington ; pop. about 2,500. It is built around the base of a hill, and is connected by a bridge with the opposite bank of the Potomac. The Baltimore and Ohio and the Winchester, Poto- mac, and Strasburg railroads unite here, and the Ohio and Chesapeake canal runs along the Maryland bank. Before the civil war it was the seat of an extensive and important United States armory and arsenal. It has a large flouring mill, a college for colored youth, five or six schools, and five churches. It has not yet recovered from the effects of the war. The scenery around Harper's Ferry is celebrated for its striking beauties. Thomas Jefferson pro- nounced the passage of the Potomac through the Blue Ridge " one of the most stupendous scenes in nature, and well worth a voyage across the Atlantic to witness." The place acquired some notoriety just previous to and during the civil war. On Oct. 16, 1859, John Brown, at the head of a small party of aboli- tionists, seized upon the town and armory build- ings, of which he held possession for more than a day, when he was captured. (See BROWN, JOHN.) On April 18, 1861, the arsenal was