Conkey, Walter Blakesley

Walter Blakesley Conkey (July 13, 1858 - March 5, 1923) was a major book publisher based in Chicago at the turn of the 20th century. Born in Ontario, Canada, he emigrated to the United States as a child, first to Philadelphia and then Chicago, where he arrived in 1872. Conkey's father died when he was young and he worked from a very young age to support his family, embedding an intense work ethic in him. After working for five years learning the printing trade in Chicago, Conkey boldly established his own shop in 1877 at the age of 19. Initially working out of a basement and employing used binding machines, he nevertheless managed to establish himself as the leading bindery business in Chicago, employing 1,500 workers in a purpose-built complex on Dearborn Street in downtown Chicago (the structure, built in 1888, still stands). In the early 1890s, Conkey aggressively expanded into publishing as well as binding, buying up several publishers to become one of the world's most powerful printing and publishing companies. Conkey maintained a special focus on children's and juvenile books, but published in many fields. He also secured a contract for publishing the official catalogue for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair (World's Columbian Exposition), further raising his company's stature. Conkey continued to expand his business, building a massive facility in Hammond, Indiana in 1898, complete with parks, cafeterias, and club rooms for employees. Throughout his career, Conkey was among the fiercest critics of unionism in Chicago, devoting much of his own time and fortune to fighting for an open shop, including serving as president of the Illinois Manufacturers' Association. He nevertheless eventually accepted unionization of his Hammond facility. Conkey died suddenly at his winter home in St. Petersburg, Florida in 1923 at the age of 65. In 1884, he married Chicago native Charlotte Kate Phillips (1859 - 1944), with whom he had three children.