While Akron’s most famous names were building their fortunes in rubber, Paul E. Werner had created a publishing empire that spanned the globe. Changes to international copyright laws lead to a series of suits against Werner’s publishing company. While he won most of the suits, the cost was high and ultimately toppled his vast empire. For…
Before Rubber made the city, Akronite Paul E. Werner was making a name for himself in the printing/publishing business. In 1886 he began building the Werner Printing and Lithograph Co. which, for a time, was the nation’s largest book publishing company. Rapid changes to international copyright laws in the early 1900s swept Werner’s company into a…
The Werner Printing Company established its dominance in the world of print long before Akron’s rubber boom. By 1900 the Werner Company was the largest and most complete book factory in America. Legal battles with Encyclopedia Britannica over copyright issues, which the Werner Company ultimately won, resulted in financial losses that ultimately destroyed the company.
Paul E. Werner established his dominance in publishing long before Akron’s rubber boom. By 1900, Werner’s publishing house, the Werner Company, claimed to be the largest and most complete book factory in America. Legal battles with Encyclopedia Britannica, of which Werner ultimately won, resulted in financial losses that destroyed the empire Werner had built.