Breck, Joseph–(1794-1873)–Boston, Massachusetts–established his business, Joseph Breck & Company, in 1818.  He acquired the New England Farmer, and later Horticultural Register and Gardens magazine, both edited by Thomas Fessenden.  He also wrote The Flower Garden, a book about flower cultivation and shrubbery.  He was one of the founding members of the American Seed Trade Association and a president of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society from 1859-1862.  Breck experimented with different forms of catalogs, for one of his schemes he packaged a collection of seeds targeted at specific markets such as the West Indies.  His 1840 catalog New England Agricultural Warehouse and Seed Store Catalogue was a small book, 84 pages in length.  Long essays on gardening were included with the products.  Breck attempted to use horticulture as an uplifting, educational tool.  He included French plant names, listed standard works on horticulture, used illustrations to improve his readers’ tastes.  The 1840 catalog featured 72 black-and-white engravings.  Breck’s catalog may have been his rural customers only exposure to graphic arts and horticultural literature.
Sources:  MHS; Plants; Woodburn2; CHSJ-Apr. 1966; Leighton2; Art Gar; SW1; Hort; CP; H&G; GT