The Century Company was formed in 1881 when Roswell Smith and Josiah Gilbert Holland, founders and part-owners of Scribner and Company, which published magazines Scribners Monthly and St Nicholas, bought out the remaining interests of Charles Scribner and Company in the magazines. Scribners Monthly became the Century Illustrated Magazine, one of the best-known literary magazines in America. Apart from the magazines, the Century Company published general fiction and adventure, a range of children's books, and most famously, a series of reference works which included a world atlas and a seven volume dictionary. The company merged with D. Appleton and Company in 1933 to form the Appleton-Century Company.
