To: The Lucile Project Home Page

The Lucile Project: Sources for Information Used in Head Notes
for Publisher's Pages

The following notes include full bibliographic descriptions of items cited in abbreviated form in the headnotes to publisher's files and elsewhere in the website text.

(Brief Studies) Brief Studies of General Book Publishing Firms of the United States Written by Students in Library 102a, Library Seminar 1930-1931, under the supervision of the assistant professor Anne M. Boyd. Urbana: University of Illinois Library School, 1931.

(DLB 49) Peter Dzwonkoski, editor. Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 49: American Literary Publishing Houses, 1638-1899, Detroit: Gale Research Co., c1986. Volume 1: A-M; Volume 2: N-Z. I have compiled an index to these two volumes.

(Krupp-Rosner) Andrea Krupp and Jennifer Woods Rosner, "Pre-Ornamented Bookcloth on Nineteenth-Century Cloth Case Bindings." The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America 94:2 (2000), p1976-196. Describes cloth embossed from the board side in the 1835-1850 period, a technique that appears to have been resurrected with, e.g., Crowell padded cloth bindings in the 1890s.

(Kurian) Kurian, George Thomas. The Directory of American Book Publishing: From Founding Fathers to Today's Conglomerates. New York: Simon & Schuster,1975.

(PTLA) The Publishers' Trade List Annual.New York: F. Leypoldt, etc. Vol. 1 (1874) -. An index was issued for the year 1902, with supplementary indexes for 1903 and 1904 (1904 includes 1903 material). Continues to the present; from 1974 the basis of Books in Print.

(PW) Publisher's Weekly. New York: R.R. Bowker Company. Vol. 1 (Jan. 18, 1872) -. Official organ of the Publishers' Board of Trade, 1872-76; of the Book Trade Association of Philadelphia, 1872-74; of the American Book Trade Union (called later American Book Trade Association) 1874-76. Vols 1-2 have title: The Publishers' weekly trade circular. (For changes in subtitle of the Publishers' Weekly see A. Growoll, Book-trade bibliography in the U. S. in the XIXth century, New York, 1898, p. XXIX; no. 37-37b). Since 1888 the Christmas number issued in Nov. (and separately paged) has had title: The Christmas book shelf. Vols. 1-14 were published by F. Leypoldt.

Preceded by the Trade circular and publishers' bulletin, v. 1-5; Sept. 1869-Dec. 1871. (Vols. 1-2 have title: The Trade circular and literary bulletin). The record of "New publications" formed the basis for the American catalogue, published July, 1876-Dec. 31, 1910. Absorbed American literary gazette and publishers' circular in Jan. 1872. (Norton's literary advertiser, begun in May 1851, was continued in Jan. 1852, as Norton's literary gazette and publishers' circular. This periodical was superseded in Sept. 1855 by the American publishers' circular and literary gazette which changed its title in Nov. 1863 to American literary gazette and publishers' circular).

(Raymond) Raymond, E. Neill. Victorian Viceroy: The Life and Times of Robert, the First Earl of Lytton. London and New York: Regency Press, 1980. 312p plus notes, 8p b&w illustrations. Biography of Lytton much more concerned with his diplomatic career than with his writing. An epilogue describes Lytton's descendents to 1980.

(Schurman) Schurman, Lydia Cushman, "The Effect of Nineteenth-Century 'Libraries' on the American Book Trade." In Schurman, Lydia Cusman and Deidre Johnson, Scorned Literature: Essays on the History and Criticism of Popular Mass-Produced Fiction in America (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2002. pp. 97-121. Description of the reprint industry which focuses exclusively on reprint publications issued in paper wrappers (e.g., those by the Munros) ; this focus limits the article's usefulness in relation to the larger reprint industry more characteristic of the late nineteenth-century.

(Shove) Shove, Raymond Howard. Cheap Book Production in The United States, 1870 To 1891. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Library, 1937. M.A. Thesis. Concerned with a relatively few publishers and "libraries," (e.g., The Lakeside Library, The Seaside Library, Franklin Square Library, Lovell's Library; T.B. Peterson, George Munro, Hurst, Lovell, Worthington, etc.) in the period leading to the American copyright law of 1891. As a result of this focus on the early period of mass market reprinting, Shove tends to disparage the publishers he discusses, and he does not discuss the more mainstream reprint phenomenon of 1890-1910 as represented by firms such as Henry Altemus, H.M. Caldwell, and T.Y. Crowell. Still, a valuable source of detail for the 1870-1890 period.

(Stern) Stern, Madeleine B., editor. Publishers for Mass Entertainment in Nineteenth Century America. Boston: G.K. Hall c1980.

(Tebbel) Tebbel, John William. A History of Book Publishing in the United States. New York: R.R.. Bowker Co., [1972]-1981. 4 volumes. Most citations are to volume 2: The Expansion of an Industry, 1865-1919.

[Books in Series]. Altick, Richard D. "From Aldine to Everyman: Cheap Reprint Series of the English Classics, 1830-1906." Studies in Bibliography 11 (1958), p3-24. About British series (rather than American) but useful background.

Barry, Rebecca Rego. "The Neo-Classics: (Re)Publishing the "Great Books" in the United States in the 1990s." Book History 6 (2003), p.251-275. Concerned primarily with Signet Classics, Bantam Classics, Harbrace Great Books, the Library of America, and other series of the 1990s but includes useful comment on earlier series and publishers' motivations to use them.

Bonnell, Thomas F. Bookselling and Canon-Making: The Trade Rivalry over the English Poets, 1776-1783. Studies in Eighteenth-Century Literature 19 (1989), p53-69. Describes the earliest period of series publication.

Cheney, O.H. Economic Survey of the Book Industry 1930-1931. National Association of Book Publishers, 1931. The chapter on "Book, Buyer, and Critic" has the following passage; note particularly the final sentence.

“The classics are favorite themes for literary tears -- "they are not read as much as they used to be" in the good old days. That the classics can achieve big sales in spite of the much-bemoaned trend away from them is amply proved by the reprints skilfully promoted and efficiently merchandised.

“A reading habits study of the Survey revealed that of actual reading over a given period, only three per cent was of the "standard authors" or the "world's masterpieces." This probably represents a fair figure for adults who do considerable reading on vocational or special subjects -- for the general population the reading of the classics probably does not represent more than five per cent of the total. This is surprisingly low, considering the cheapness of the classics and the continuous publicity they have received. It is surprisingly high considering the ordeal these books have to pass in schools.

“The plaint that the good books of the past are not available in good editions is unfounded. In fact, in some titles, there is a decided over-abundance of editions. Every popular illustrator and every new artistic discoverer "must do" a new edition of this classic or that -- and the result adds to the troubles of the bookseller -- particularly during the Christmas rush.

“The competition between editions of the best books of all time is becoming keen and unnecessarily so. The deliberate duplication of lists in low-priced editions is not a service to the public but a destructive burden on the bookseller.”

[Stereo- and electrotyping] Gaskell, Philip. A New Introduction to Bibliography (New Castle: Oak Knoll Press, 1995), p201-205.

----. Harter, Eugene. Boilerplating America: The Hidden Newspaper (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1991).

----. Winship, Michael. "Printing with Plates in the Nineteenth Cenury United States." Printing History, The Journal of the American Printing History Association V:2 (number 10; 1983).

----. "Stereotyping and Electroplating" and "Book-Making," from Great Industries of the United States (Hartford, 1872).

The American Catalogue of Books, (original and reprints) published in the United States from Jan., 1861 to Jan. …[1871]., with date of publication, size, price, and publisher's name… Compiled by James Kelly. New York, 1866-77. Reprinted New York: P. Smith, 1941. Volume 1, 1861-1866… with Supplement, containing pamphlets, sermons, and addresses on the Civil War in the United States, 1861-1866; and Appendix, containing names of learned societies and other literary associations, with a list of their publications, 1861-1866. Volume 2, 1866-1871,… with Supplement containing names of learned societies and other literary associations, with a list of their publications, 1866-1871.

The American Catalogue … of Books, in print and for sale (including reprints and importations) 1876-1910, founded by F. Leypoldt; compiled under the editorial direction of R.R. Bowker and A.I. Appleton. New York, 1880 et seq. Reprinted New York: Peter Smith, 1941. 9 volumes in 13. American national trade bibliography. Supplemented by the Annual American catalogue, 1886-1900: Annual Ameican catalogue, cummulated, 1900/01-1900/03; Annual American catalogue, 1905-06, 1908-10; and, currently, by the Publishers' Weekly.

The United States Catalog, books in print 1902. Entries under author, subject, and title, in one alphabet, with particulars of binding, price, date, and publisher. Edited by Marion E. Potter. Minneapolis: The H.W. Wilson Co., 1903.

The United States Catalog, books in print January 1, 1912. Entries under author, subject, and title, in one alphabet, with particulars of binding, price, date, and publisher. Edited by Marion E. Potter, assisted by Emma L. Teich, Louise Teich, and Bertha Tennehill. Minneapolis: The H.W. Wilson Co., 1912.

The United States Catalog, books in print January 1, 1928. Edited by Mary Burnham, managing editor, Carol Hurd. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1928.

To: The Lucile Project Home Page

Sid Huttner. This page last revised March 2007