B. B. Mussey/ B. B. Mussey & Co., Boston

B. B. Mussey appears to have started as a publisher and bookseller at 63 Cornhill in 1832. He moved to 29 Cornhill in the spring of 1832 and remained there throughout the rest of its publishing life. Early reports from the 1830's indicate that Mussey was a publisher as well as a prolific bookseller.

By the summer of 1847 Mussey had incorporated with the imprint B. B. Mussey & Co. The imprint sometimes notes Benjamin as opposed to "B". There is no obvious difference in priority between the two imprints.

Of note is the many titles that Mussey co-published with Abel Tompkins.

Probably more interesting than Mussey's literary accomplishments are accounts of another of his businesses: selling patent medicines. It was reported in 1838 that he sold Dr. Brandeth’s Vegetable Universal Pills at his store and employed traveling salesman to sell the pills. An unhappy customer alleged that Mussey's pills were counterfeit. The agitated customer noted that his wife had taken these pills and three days later was dead. Other unhappy patients were noted. Of course, with the retrospective scope, it is quite humorous (not the death) to appreciate that people relied on this quackery to such an extent and furthermore believed in it.

(Perhaps we have not really advanced that much when we consider how many people spend money on all the different supplements and vitamins in the present time even after well controlled studies show that they are valueless.)

B. B. Mussey 1832-1847 (Some 1848 editions have this imprint.)
B. B. Mussey and Co. ca. December, 1847-1855. There are books with title page dates as late as 1858 that were co-published with A. Tompkins.

B. B. Mussey was succeeded by January, 1855 by Sanborn, Carter & Bazin as a bookseller and publisher on Cornhill. The firm's principals were O. L. Sanborn, Ezra Carter, Jr. and Thomas H. Bazin. In 1857 that firm became Sanborn, Carter, Bazin & Co. and finally in 1858 the firm became Sanborn, Bazin & Ellsworth. In 1859 it was Bazin & Ellsworth.

B. B. Mussey died in 1857.

B. B Mussey published several series/sets for juveniles.