The Final Chapter: The Rise and Fall of the Plimpton Press in Norwood-October 8, 1973

From its foundational beginnings in 1897 until the present day, the Plimpton Press maintained a long, storied, and vital history of book manufacturing and community building in Norwood. But when the press officially closed its doors last Friday, it marked the end of an era, leaving behind a legacy preserved now only in town archives.

Attracting Industry to Norwood

Following the establishment of the Norwood Business Association in 1893, local members worked diligently to draw industrialists to the growing town. One major firm successfully recruited to Norwood was the printing enterprise owned by Herbert M. Plimpton in Boston.

Plimpton relocated his printing establishment to Lenox Street, the site the press occupied throughout its 76-year existence. Just three years after operations commenced, Norwood’s population surged to 5,480, many of whom found employment at Plimpton and the town’s other rapidly expanding industrial sectors.

Nation’s Leading Textbook Manufacturer

At one time or another, nearly every schoolboy and girl across New England—and across the nation—came into contact with Norwood’s Plimpton Press, whether they realized it or not. For decades, the company stood as the leading manufacturer of textbooks for primary and secondary schools nationwide.

Major publishing houses contracted Plimpton to produce volume upon volume of educational literature:

• Boston publishers such as Ginn & Co. and D.C. Heath.
• National firms including Harcourt, Brace & Co. and Henry Holt & Co.
• Chicago-based Scott, Foresman Co., which relied on Plimpton to manufacture hundreds of thousands of editions of the legendary “Dick and Jane” primary school readers.

In addition to pioneering new methods that vastly improved textbook manufacturing quality, founder Herbert Plimpton instilled an organizational philosophy promoting workplace fellowship and harmony. During its peak production period in the late 1950s, the rambling factory employed over 1,200 workers and produced an estimated one billion books over its lifetime.

In the early 1920s, Holliston Mills was established within the Plimpton complex to manufacture book cloth, reportedly named after Hollis Plimpton, a son of the founder. Following the death of Herbert’s brother Howard, Henry Plimpton became principal owner and incorporated the firm in 1913. For roughly 30 years starting in 1918, Richmond Mayo-Smith headed the plant alongside manager and treasurer Henry Kendall of Walpole. Later, in 1955, Thomas B. McCusker of Braintree gained controlling interest before ownership shifted to McCall Printing Co. (a division of Norton-Simon Co.) in 1964, and finally to the New York-based Murray Traub Acquiring Corp. in 1970.

Officials and Workers Ponder Reasons for Slow Death

When the press closed its doors, it had been losing money steadily for six years, owed the town well over $200,000 in back taxes, and could not pay severance benefits to its remaining 350 workers.

Reflecting on how a once-great company collapses, general manager and Traub treasurer Alfred M. Flaxington pointed to shifts in the publishing market and financial pressures. He noted that a major customer, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Inc., decided to split its printing contracts among three firms instead of exclusively utilizing Plimpton. Furthermore, Flaxington recalled that during an earlier federal education funding push under McCall’s management, the plant acquired two massive web presses that exceeded the company’s long-term capacity once federal funds dried up.

Bindery union head Donald Ronci also cited missteps in equipment acquisition, arguing that Plimpton remained “behind the times” and failed to diversify adequately. Flaxington confirmed that the Traub Corporation had not fully paid McCall for the firm’s acquisition, leading McCall to sell press equipment to the American Can Co. of Newton to satisfy a $2.3 million lease obligation with John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co.

Despite knowing for three years that the plant was folding—accelerated by the closure of the composing room the previous January—many long-time employees stayed until the bitter end. Ronci reflected:

“If you were a bindery worker, you’d understand. As long as people were getting their pay checks, they didn’t pay much attention.”

Describing the dedicated craftsmen who “really loved the old place, the people and the work — you really get into it,” Ronci lamented that the real losers in the downfall are the workers whose pension and retirement funds face severe shortfalls.

Employees Sad, Anxious About Future

For the roughly 350 remaining employees—about half of them women who spent decades at the plant—the closing brought deep emotional distress and sudden anxiety over job hunting.

• Mrs. Angelina Webber, an employee since 1935 who worked as a machine stitcher binding book pages, expressed heartbreak: “I feel sad about the closing, I don’t know what I am going to do. I like my job… I guess I’ll stay home for a while and relax, doing things that need to be done. And think about what I want to do about working.”
• Mrs. Mary Gustafson, who worked at Plimpton for 30 years, noted: “I’ve been working a long time, and I’m afraid the money won’t be as good some place else.” Discussing the plight of male colleagues with families, she added: “It’s tough on men with families.”
• John Stoebel, a pressman of 27 years living in Islington, noted his reluctance to relocate: “I’ve lived in Islington for 17 years, have three kids at home, and it would be rough on them to move now. I don’t expect trouble in getting a job. I’ll change my trade if necessary.”
• Frank Libertowicz, a bindery expert employed since 1942, remarked on his situation as a single homeowner: “I would commute, but not too far.” Reflecting on the four-year waiting period leading up to the end, an anonymous worker aptly summarized the mood: “It was like going to a wake and still being shocked at the funeral.”

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger

By J. MICHAEL McGORTY, DOUGLAS CURRAN, and NONA DEARTH