A. L. Burt, New York, 1883-1902
OBITUARY from Publishers' Weekly, January 3, 1914, p21]
Albert L. Burt, President of the A. L. Burt Company, died Dec. 28th at the age of 71 years at his residence, 178 Brooklyn Avenue, Brooklyn.
Mr. Burt was born at Belchertown, Mass., and educated in the public schools there. He started to work in a grocery store and later became a traveling salesman. When he was traveling more than thirty years ago for Case, Lockwood & Brainerd, a leather goods house in Hartford, Conn., he conceived the plan of becoming a publisher. His first book was a small dictionary, intended for use for mail order houses, such as "Law Without Layers," "Household Recipes," "Useful Knowledge," and "The Family Physician."
After his earlier ventures in publishing had proved successful, Mr. Burt took a bolder step, and in 1890 began publishing cloth-bound standard works. He was a pioneer in this country in the field of printing the classics in attractive form at popular prices. His "Home Library" of several hundred titles had an universal sale for many years and is still in demand.
After founding the A. L. Burt Company, now at 52 Duane Street, New York, Mr. Burt published books of every description, cloth-bound and paper-bound, from encyclopedias to the lightest juvenile fiction, including Popular editions of Copyright Fiction. Mr. Burt had been for many years a Trustee of the Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, and was known as an enthusiastic fisherman with a bent for trout. He leaves a wife, Sarah H.P. Burt, and three sons, Harry P., Frederic A., and Edward F. Burt, all of whom have been associated with their father in business for some years.
Last revised: 27 October 2010