Editing Western Publishing (section)

===Early years===

Edward Henry Wadewitz, the 30-year-old son of [[German Americans|German immigrants]], worked at the West Side Printing Company in [[Racine, Wisconsin]]. When the owner of that company was unable to pay Wadewitz his wages, Wadewitz took the opportunity in 1907 to purchase the company<ref name="WP&L">{{cite web |title=The History of The Western Printing & Lithographing Company |url=http://www.wisconsingenealogy.net/racine/western-printing.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121214201743/http://wisconsingenealogy.net/racine/western-printing.htm |archive-date=December 14, 2012 |access-date=August 11, 2015 |publisher=WisconsinGenealogy.net, citing "Racine, Belle City of the Lakes, and Racine County, Wisconsin: A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement" (Chicago: S. J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1916)}}</ref> for $2,504,<ref name="Antique">{{cite web |last=Santi |first=Steve |date=April 29, 2009 |title=Once Upon a Time: The History of Little Golden Books |url=http://www.antiquetrader.com/features/the_history_of_little_golden_books |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150710223909/http://www.antiquetrader.com/features/the_history_of_little_golden_books |archive-date=July 10, 2015 |access-date=August 11, 2015 |website=[[Antique Trader]]}}</ref>  with some of the funds provided by his brother Albert. Knowing that the company needed staff with more knowledge of the business than he had, Wadewitz hired Roy A. Spencer, a printer at the Racine Journal Company.<ref name="Antique" />

At the end of its first year sales were $5,000 and the company increased its staff of four to handle a growing number of commercial jobs. It installed a [[Printing press|cylinder press]], two smaller presses, and an automatic power cutter.<ref name="WPGHistory">{{cite web |title=History of Western Publishing |url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/western-publishing-group-inc-history/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724052813/http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/western-publishing-group-inc-history/ |archive-date=July 24, 2012 |access-date=August 12, 2015 |publisher=Funding Universe, citing International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 13 ([[St. James Press]], 1996)}}</ref> In 1910, the company changed its name to Western Printing and Lithographing Company after the purchase of its first [[Lithography|lithographic press]].<ref name="Antique" /> By 1914, sales were more than $127,000. The company installed a larger [[Offset printing|offset press]] and added [[electrotyping]] and [[engraving]] departments.<ref name="WPGHistory" /> Wadewitz was approached by the Hamming-Whitman Publishing Company of Chicago to print its line of children's books. Unable to pay its bills, Hamming-Whitman left Western with thousands of books. As a result, Western acquired Hamming-Whitman on February 9, 1916, and formed a subsidiary corporation, [[Whitman Publishing|Whitman Publishing Company]]. It employed two salesmen and, in the first year, grossed more than $43,500 liquidating the remaining Hamming-Whitman books.<ref name="Antique" /> In 1916, Sam Lowe joined Western. He convinced Western and Whitman to publish a 10-cent children's book in 1918 and convinced retailers that children's books could be sold year-round.<ref name="Antique" />