This history of the Bobbs-Merrill publishing company provides a chronological description of the personalities, activities, and events which influenced its development. Sections in the document include: Background and Origins; The Merger of 1885; The Fire and the Aftermath; Relocation; Sale of the Paper and "Notions" Trade; The New York Office; Indiana Literature; Entrepreneurship and Profit in the Early 1900s; Law Book Publishing; The Reorganization of 1908; The Bookstore; Textbook Publishing; Trade Publishing and Financial Stress, 1910-1916; The Renascence of the 1920s; Textbook and Law Book Salesmen; William Conrad Bobbs; John Jay Curtis; The Reorganization of 1929; The Meridian Street Offices; David Laurance Chambers; Children's Books; Law Publishing in the Depression; Trade Book Publishing in the Depression; World War II and After; Hiram Haydn and the Early 1950s; and Summary and Conclusions. References and the author's vita are included. (THC)