Examines the vibrant engraving industry that helped fuel the growth of the “Queen City” and established its influence as the midwestern center for the print and engraving trade.

The Engraving Trade in Early Cincinnati examines the vibrant engraving industry that helped fuel the growth of the “Queen City” in the nineteenth century. Cincinnati’s influence as the midwestern center for the print and engraving trade and its key position on the Ohio River played a crucial role in the development of print arts throughout the region. Donald C. O’Brien provides a readable and thorough account that shows how the print arts helped fashion Cincinnati in both image and economy. The book features chapters on Cincinnati’s pioneering engravers; the influential Doolittle & Munson engraving firm; the thirty-five-year history of the Ladies’ Repository, with original engravings by many noted American artists; and the development of bank note engraving, wood engraving, and lithography as the city grew and the printing trade changed after the Civil War.
The Engraving Trade in Early Cincinnati features 132 stunning illustrations of aesthetic and historical value—some rarely seen—selected from museum holdings and private collections in Cincinnati and around the country.

"An “excellent and finely detailed history, presenting a professional artisan legacy in accessible, user-friendly terms.”" - The Midwest Book Review

"“Mr. O’Brien quickly comes across as an astute historian with an eye for ascertaining and an ability for explaining not only the origins of the engraving trade in Cincinnati, but the series of events that inspired the trade.”" - Imprint: Journal of the American Historical Print Collectors Society

"“A book that rewards looking.”" - WVXU-NPR, “Around Cincinnati”