Hugh C. Leighton Company
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Predecessor | A. P. Leighton Company |
| Founded | 1906 |
| Founder | Hugh Chisholm Leighton |
| Defunct | 1909 |
| Fate | Merged with Valentine & Sons and Sackett & Willhelms Company to form Leighton & Valentine |
| Headquarters | Portland, Maine , United States |
| Products | Postcards |
Hugh C. Leighton Company was a publishing company located in Portland, Maine, United States, active between 1906 and 1909. The firm focused on producing and distributing postcards, mainly depicting imagery from the New England region.
Initially founded as A. P. Leighton Company from 1904 to 1906 by Adam Phillips Leighton, the enterprise was later reestablished by his son, Hugh Chisholm Leighton, with its main office situated on Plum Street in Portland.[1]
The company's postcard production encompassed four primary techniques: halftone lithography, continuous-tone lithography, collotype, and hand coloring; additionally, some cards were created using the gravure method. Although a portion of the printing took place domestically, the majority of manufacturing was carried out in Frankfurt, Germany.
In 1909, Hugh C. Leighton Company combined forces with Scottish postcard publisher Valentine & Sons and Sackett & Willhelms Company to form Leighton & Valentine, which remained in business until 1914.
Leighton family
Adam Phillips Leighton was born in West Falmouth, Maine, in 1851 to parents Adam W. and Julia Ann Leighton. He wed Isadore Mary Butler in 1873, and they had two sons: Hugh Chisholm and Dr. Adam Phillips Jr. Leighton held the office of mayor of Portland, Maine, from 1908 to 1909. He passed away in 1922 at age 71 and was interred at Evergreen Cemetery in Portland alongside his spouse.
Hugh Chisholm Leighton, a native of Maine born in 1878, earned his degree from Williams College. His marital history includes two unions: first with Elizabeth Esther Wilcox in 1908, followed by actress Pauline Frederick in 1930; the latter marriage was annulled after eight months. He fathered one known daughter, Margaret Jane Sturges, from his initial marriage.
Hugh also co-established Interstate News Company, which operated more than 250 dining establishments nationwide, serving as its president. He died in White Plains, New York, in 1942 at age 63 and was laid to rest at Glen Abbey Memorial Park in Bonita, California.
References
- ↑ Plum Street linked Fore Street and Middle Street between Exchange Street and Union Street.