Discussion

By Joe Webb on Oct 27, 2024

Harrie Lewis would always tell the story about his uncle AF Lewis, founder of the Blue Books, who was a gambler. He nearly lost the business... in a weekly crap game! Harrie finally admitted that was the game, but he would often tell people it was poker. Poker was, I guess, considered higher class and more refined game.

The printed list of fellow gamblers, with their phone numbers (some newfangled business idea at the time) was up on AF's wall, right by his desk. An ink salesman came by one day and told him "I see this list everywhere I go. Do you print that list?" and AF said "yes." The salesman said "I'll pay you $5 if you put my name and number and company in an ad at the bottom of that list." That's supposedly where AF Lewis got the idea to create the Blue Books.

Harrie had intended to have an academic career. He was working at the University of Pittsburgh and was involved in retail market research at its beginnings, and even did some work for the legendary George Gallup. In 1956, AF Lewis died, and the family asked Harrie to take over his uncle's business, which he reluctantly did. His cousins had started Graphic Arts Monthly long before. (They later sold it to Dun & Bradstreet).

Directories... were so very important to so many industries... you could look it up! :)