Brown, J. Seymour (1814 - 1893)

J. Seymour Brown (1814 - 1893) was a Hartford based Connecticut publisher active in the mid-19th century. From 1835, he is recorded as a bookbinder in Hartford, where he mostly bound schoolbooks, a Hartford specialization. In 1841 he established a publishing and bindery firm with Sidney Drake. This business lasted until 1852. From 1847, he also partnered with William Watson House (1813 - 1882) to create the publishing firm 'Brown and House'. This firm dissolved in 1857. Following 1857, Brown is listed in Hartford directories as an 'Agent', likely a book agent working with various publishing houses. Brown was involved in the Spiritualist revival in the 1850s and is listed as the Vice President of the New England Spiritualists' Association. He was also associated with Willis Thrall, another part-time Hartford publisher, with whom he owned the 'Hartford Screw Company'. Brown must have been quite wealthy, as in 1852 he constructed a large mansion in Hartford, today preserved as the Calvin Day House (105 Spring Street). Brown died in Hartford in 1893.