Dear Penny: The Moss Engraving Company, which also prepared the illustration plates for *Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,* was at 535 Pearl Street in New York according to the Trow directories of 1883-84 and 1884-85. Their ad in the 83-84 directory reads: "MOSS ENGRAVING COMPANY 535 PEARL ST. NEW YORK LARGEST ESTABLISHMENT OF THE KIND IN THE WORLD ENGRAVINGS FOR BOOKS, NEWSPAPERS, CATALOGUES &C. MOSS'S NEW PROCESS SUPERIOR TO ANY OTHER METHOD THIRTEEN YEARS PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE SEND GREEN STAMP FOR ILLUSTRATED CIRCULAR." (*Trow's New York City Directory,* vol. 47 (year ending 1 May 1884): "Commercial Register," 36) The textual introduction of the Works of Mark Twain edition of *Huck Finn* gives some information about their 1884 procedures and prices, derived in part from the processing notations on extant Kemble drawings and in part from Charles L. Webster's accounts of expenses. Webster delivered Kemble's drawings for *Huck* to the Moss company in batches; the Moss company assigned a number to each batch and each picture, marked each one for reduction (usually 50%), and also marked the date of processing. To give you an idea of costs, Webster paid $45 for the first 31 completed electros on 4 June 1884 (about $1.45 each). The company routinely pulled picture proofs which were sent Webster for approval (Webster sent them on to Clemens). The approved illustration electrotypes then went to the printer, Joseph J. Little: see *Adventures of Huckleberry Finn* (ed. Walter Blair and Victor Fischer, University of California Press, 1988), pp. 456-65, for more details. During production of *Huck,* Charles L. Webster and Co. was located at 658 Broadway, and the printer, J. J. Little, was at 10 Astor Place. I hope this is of some use. All best, Victor Fischer Mark Twain Project On Mon, 25 Aug 1997, PENNY wrote: > I am looking for information on the Moss Company. They "processed" the > illustrations for LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI for the Osgood Company in 1882. > Any information would be most helpful. thanks you. >