Davis Press was founded in Worcester, Massachusetts, at the turn of the century, and its president was Gilbert Gates Davis. He and Fred Daniels, supervisor of drawing for the City of Worcester, wanted to create a periodical that would help art teachers develop and use art curricula. Daniels, along with Henry Turner Bailey, state agent for the Promotion of Industrial Drawing, and James Hall, supervisor of drawing for the City of Springfield, created the Applied Arts Guild. Gilbert Davis agreed to provide the means to publish The Applied Arts Book (now known as SchoolArts Magazine), and the publishing arm of Davis Press was born.