 From the start the firm was involved in publishing in a modest way, its output consisting mainly of school books.In 1888, the company was taken over by William Martin Nygaard and Thorstein Lambrechts (1856-1933), who kept the name while expanding its operations.In 1900 William Nygaard withdrew from the bookselling side of the business and established a publishing company, which was given the name H. Aschehoug & Co. (W. Nygaard).