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Appleton [1831-1965]: |
Daniel
Appleton
began his
publishing
empire in
1831 with
the issue of
two books.
His book
interests
date back to
1813 when he
ordered
books from
England to
open a book
department
in his
Massachusetts
dry goods
store.
When Daniel
Appleton
passed away
in 1849, his
four sons
[William,
John, George
& Samuel]
took over
the
publishing
house.
They used
the imprint
"D.
Appleton &
Co."
from 1838
through
1933.
In 1933,
after over
three years
of
negotiations,
Appleton
& Co.
merged with
Century
Co. and
adopted a
new imprint
"Appleton-Century"
on their
books.
This was
maintained
until
another
merger with
F. S. Crofts
in 1948.
The entire
company was
sold to
Prentice-Hall
in the
1960s.
Prentice-Hall
was
eventually
acquired by
Simon &
Schuster
in the
1980s.
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Blue Ribbon Books [1930-1939]: |
On April 17, 1930, the New York Times announced the formation of Blue
Ribbon Books of which equal shares were owned by Dodd, Mead & Co.,
Harcourt, Brace & Co., Harper & Brothers and Little Brown & Co.
Blue Ribbon Books received from these four companies the rights of their
successful non-fiction titles and also published titles from non-member
houses on the usual royalty basis.
On March 5, 1937, another New York Times article announced the
following:
"Robert
de Graff, president of Blue Ribbon Books, Inc., which specializes in
non-fiction reprints, announced yesterday the purchase of the stock and
good-will of the A. L. Burt Company, a publishing organization founded
in 1883. Harry P. Burt, head of the company, is retiring.
"In
bringing together the lists and publishing activities of the two
companies," Mr. de Graff said, "we feel that the lines of both houses
will be materially strengthened, since the fiction list of the A. L.
Burt Company and the non-fiction books issued under the Blue Ribbon
imprint are supplementary rather than competitive."
Blue
Ribbon Books, which has offices at 386 Fourth Avenue, was founded in
1930 by four publishing companies and purchased by Mr. de Graff in
1933."
In June 1939, Blue Ribbon Books started the popular paperback imprint,
Pocket Books.
By
eliminating excessive margins and by the use of special lightweight but
opaque paper Mr. de Graff has been able to bring these books down to
pocket size (4 1/4 inches by 6 1/2 inches) without sacrificing
legibility. Each book is printed from type at least as large as
that used in the original edition. The carrying weight has been
further cut down by doing away with bulky cloth and board binding and
substituting semi-stiff paper binding coated with Dura-gloss, which is
moisture proof and does not easily become soiled. The books will
sell at 25 cents per copy and will be on sale not only in book stores
but also in drug and cigar stores and on newsstands. [New
York Times, June 18, 1939]
|
Bobbs-Merrill
[1838-1937]: |
This company
was founded
by Samuel
Merrill in
1838.
Merrill's
first
partner was
Bowen |
Brentano's: |
A publisher
imprint
|
A.L. Burt [1883-1937]: |
A. L. Burt
publishing
company was
founded by
Albert L.
Burt [born
in
Belchertown,
MA] in 1883
and began
publishing
at 105 John
St. in New
York City --
the
beginning of
several
decades as a
well-known
reprint
publisher.
Burt came to
be regarded
as a pioneer
in the field
of printing
the classics
in
attractive
form at
popular
prices. His
"Home
Library" of
several
hundred
titles had
widespread
sales for
many years.
The founder,
Albert L.
Burt passed
away on 28
Dec 1913 and
the business
was taken
over by his
three sons
[Harry,
Frederick &
Edward].
A.L. Burt
was sold to
Blue Ribbon
Books in
1937. Blue Ribbon Books was then purchased by Doubleday in 1939.
[see above].
A.L. Burt
expanded its
publishing
strength by
establishing
reprint
contracts
with several
publishers.
Between 1915
and 1928,
A.L. Burt
reprinted
the first
five of
Edgar Rice
Burroughs'
Tarzan
adventures
acquiring
the reprint
rights from
A.C. McClurg
Publishers
of Chicago
[who had
issued the
first
editions].
A.L. Burt
setup
similar
reprint
arrangements
with other
first
editions
publishers
such as
Appleton-Century,
Bobbs-Merrill,
Doubleday-Doran
& Little,
Brown
reprinting
the titles
of dozens of
works of
popular
fiction from
the
mysteries of
Conan-Doyle,
Oppenheim,
Packard,
Rohmer and
Wallace, to
the
historical
adventures
of Chambers,
Dumas &
Farnol.
Many of
these Burt
reprints are
often
confused as
first
editions by
collectors
who eagerly
find the
early
copyright
dates
without
checking for
the all
important
publisher
imprints,
and
assessing
dates of
advertisements
and
publisher
address
changes.
For example,
dating a
book can be
simplified
by keeping
in mind that
A.L. Burt
publishers
changed
their
location as
follows:
A.L.
Burt |
66 Reade
Street |
1889-1896 |
A.L.
Burt |
97 Reade
Street |
1896-1900 |
A.L.
Burt |
52-8
Duane
Street
|
1900-1912 |
A.L.
Burt |
114-120
East.
23rd St
|
1912-1937 |
For more
extensive
information,
collectors
may wish to
refer to the
following
bibliographies:
Sternick,
Cary:
A
BIBLIOGRAPHY
OF 19TH
CENTURY
CHILDREN'S
SERIES BOOKS,
Houston, TX,
2003
Note:
Includes an
invaluable
publisher
imprint
index with
historical
publisher's
addresses as
noted above. |
Cosmopolitan
[1838-1937]: |
This company
was founded
by Samuel
Merrill in
1838.
Merrill's
first
partner was
Bowen |
Dodd Mead [1]: |
This company
was founded
by Samuel
Merrill in
1838.
Merrill's
first
partner was
Bowen |
Doubleday: |
In 1887,
Frank Nelson
Doubleday
worked in a
magazine
subscription
position at
Scribners.
In 1892, the
well known
magazine
publisher
Samuel
McClure
offered him
a
partnership
from which
they founded
Doubleday
& McClure
Company.
McClure
however
continued to
operate
S. S. McClure
publishing
separately.
One of Frank
Doubleday's
first
successes
was
publishing
the works of
his good
friend
Rudyard
Kipling in
the US.
Doubleday
was also a
close friend
of Samuel
Clemens
[Mark
Twain].
In 1900 the
company
became
Doubleday,
Page &
Company
when Walter
Hines Page
joined as a
new partner [New York Times, Dec. 19, 1899].
In 1908,
Samuel
McClure
decided to
retire and
offered
McClure
Publishing
to Frank
Doubleday
who agreed
to purchase
it. By
1910,
Doubleday
moved its
operations
to Garden
City, NY and
established
a separate
firm, the
Country Life
Press [an
imprint
collectors
will
recognize].
In this way,
Doubleday
became the
first major
publisher to
have its own
press and
printing
services
in-house.
In 1922, Frank's son, Nelson Doubleday, joined the firm. On
September 22, 1927,
Doubleday
merged with
George H.
Doran
Company
forming
Doubleday,
Doran
the largest
publishing
firm in the
English-speaking
world.
"The consolidation is effective at once, but until Jan. 1 the firms will
retain their separate entitles for the conduct of business, and their
present names." [New York Times, September 23, 1927]
Some of the most widely known Doubleday
imprints include:
Doubleday, McClure
Doubleday, Page
Doubleday, Doran
Doubleday & Co |
1897-1899
1900-1927
1928-1946
1946-1986
|
Doubleday
expanded its
publishing
empire by
developing
many
publishing
divisions,
each with a
unique
imprint.
Among these
imprints
were the
following
milestones:
1925
Garden City
Publishing
Co.
This was
another
imprint
originally
established
as a
separate
firm by
Nelson
Doubleday,
who was
interesting
pursuing the
reprint
market. Most
of Garden
City's books
were
reprints of
books first
offered by
Doubleday,
Page,
printed from
the original
plates but
on cheaper
paper and
sold for
$1.00.
1929
Rimington &
Hooper
headed by R. Critchell
Rimington,
this imprint
was for high
quality
limited
editions.
One of its
most admired
editions was
the famous
Currier &
Ives book of
prints.
1944
Blakiston
Co. For
medical and
scientific
books. Sold
in 1947 to
McGraw-Hill.
(See
Blakiston,
1843.)
1939---Blue
Ribbon Books
Purchased
from Reynal
& Hitchcock
(See 1933).
The reprint
publisher
for
Doubleday.
1939---Triangle
Books
Purchased
from Reynal
& Hitchcock.
(See 1933).
Sold
inexpensive
books
through
chainstores.
1953 -
Anchor Books
Anchor
Books,
founded in
1953, was
the first
line of
quality
trade
paperback
books in the
industry,
Quality
paperbacks
sold in
bookstores.
This imprint
was headed
by Jason
Epstein who
left to
establish
Vintage
Books for
Random
House.
The business
became known
as Doubleday
& Company in
1946.
In 1986,
Doubleday
was sold to
Bertelsmann,
AG, and, in
1988 it
became part
of the
Bantam
Doubleday
Dell
Publishing
Group, a
division of
Bertelsmann.
In 1998,
Bantam
Doubleday
Dell merged
with Random
House, Inc.
In 1999, the
Doubleday
division
merged with
Broadway
Books to
form the
Doubleday
Broadway
Publishing
Group.
Anchor Books
has become
associated
with Vintage
Books to
create
Vintage
Anchor, now
part of the
Knopf
Publishing
Group. |
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