To celebrate its 150th anniversary, American Express published a 200-page commemorative book to mark the occasion. It would include a detailed history of the company from its founding through decades of reinvention and innovation.
The hardbound book was distributed to every one of the company's 80,000 employees around the globe, which necessitated its translation into seven additional languages besides English.
Photographs and documents from American Express' archives proved invaluable in making the book engaging.
Sprinkled throughout the pages are interesting sidebars, factoids, timelines, and historical photographs.
Gallery pages featured classic travel posters and ads, ink blotters, credit card designs, and television advertisements.
In the modern era, American Express has become one of the most recognized and respected financial services companies in the world.
This project took almost an entire year to complete and made extensive use of American Express' archives. The final chapter was being completed just as the book went on press—it took three weeks running on multiple 8-color, sheet-fed presses just to print the English-language edition.