Benjamin W. Huebsch (March 21, 1876 – August 7, 1964) was an American publisher in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in the early 20th century.

Background

Huebsch was the son of Rabbi Adolphus Huebsch, who had immigrated to the United States from

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

in 1866 and died in New York, 1884. He played violin and studied under composer and pianist Sam Franko.

Career

Beginning work in his older brother's small print shop, which he gradually transformed into a publishing house.

B. W. Huebsch (1900–1924)

In 1900, Huebsch established the publishing house B. W. Huebsch. He was the first publisher in the United States of: D. H. Lawrence's book '' Sons and Lovers'' (1913),

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

's ''

Dubliners ''Dubliners'' is a collection of fifteen short stories by James Joyce, first published in 1914. It presents a naturalistic depiction of Irish middle class life in and around Dublin in the early years of the 20th century. The stories were writ ...

'' (1916) and '' Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man'' (1916), and Sherwood Anderson's '' Winesburg, Ohio'' (1919). He also published Georges Sorel's ''Réflexions sur la violence'' (1908) as '' Reflections on Violence'', translated by T. E. Hulme and published by Huebsch in 1914. Circa January 1918, B. W. Huebsch published the book ''The Poets of Modern France'' by Ludwig Lewisohn, A.M., Litt.D., Professor at the Ohio State University. This is a translation of major French poets into English. Quoting from the Preface: "In every age the critical conservatives have protested in the name of eternal principles which, alas, are not eternal at all."

''The Freeman'' magazine (1920–1924)

Huebsch published '' The Freeman'' magazine from 1920 to 1924. The magazine's co-editors were Francis Neilson (a former British MP) and Albert Jay Nock (a

Libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

whose autobiography ''Memoirs of a Superfluous Man'' influenced William F. Buckley Sr. and William F. Buckley Jr. among others). Neilson's wealthy wife, Helen Swift Neilson, financed the magazine. Contributors included: Charles A. Beard, William Henry Chamberlin,

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

, Lewis Mumford,

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...

Lincoln Steffens Joseph Lincoln Steffens (April 6, 1866 – August 9, 1936) was an American investigative journalist and one of the leading muckrakers of the Progressive Era in the early 20th century. He launched a series of articles in '' McClure's'', called " ...

, Louis Untermeyer,

Thorstein Veblen Thorstein Bunde Veblen (; July 30, 1857 – August 3, 1929) was an American Economics, economist and Sociology, sociologist who, during his lifetime, emerged as a well-known Criticism of capitalism, critic of capitalism. In his best-known book ...

and Suzanne La Follette (the more Libertarian cousin of Senator Robert M. La Follette).

Viking Press (1925–1964)

In 1925 he merged his publishing house with the Viking Press, where he worked as an editor and vice president. At Viking, he published numerous German-speaking authors, including:

Lion Feuchtwanger Lion Feuchtwanger (; 7 July 1884 – 21 December 1958) was a German Jewish novelist and playwright. A prominent figure in the literary world of Weimar Republic, Weimar Germany, he influenced contemporaries including playwright Bertolt Brecht. ...

, Franz Werfel (though not Werfel's later controversial ''Class Reunion'', published by Simon & Schuster in 1929 and translated by Whittaker Chambers), Arnold Zweig, and Stefan Zweig. Further authors he published included: Irwin Edman,

Rumer Godden Margaret Rumer Godden (10 December 1907 – 8 November 1998) was a British author of more than 60 fiction and non-fiction books. Nine of her works have been made into films, most notably ''Black Narcissus (novel), Black Narcissus'' in 194 ...

, William White, Patrick White.

Associations

Huebsch was a member of the Henry Ford Peace Plan Commission (1915–1916). He was a signatory member of the Committee of Forty-Eight in 1919. (This was an American liberal political association to create a new political party for social reform in opposition to the increasingly

conservatism Conservatism is a Philosophy of culture, cultural, Social philosophy, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, Convention (norm), customs, and Value (ethics and social science ...

in both the Republican and Democratic parties. The name reflect the 48

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

of the time, as well as the desire for a broad, national movement of moderate progressives. The committee failed to form a third party, despite sympathetic activists from the labor movement in 1920. The "Forty-Eighters") then became constituents in the Conference for Progressive Political Action in 1922, a movement culminating in the independent candidacy of Robert LaFollete for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

in 1924. He may have been a communist, as some have stated. Diana Trilling wrote in her memoir ''The Beginning of the Journey'' (1993) that Huebsch refused to ever republish her husband Lionel Trilling's only novel, ''The Middle of the Journey'' (1947) because he was a communist. ''Whittaker Chambers: A Biography'' (1997) claims "Unbeknownst to Trilling, Viking's publisher 'sic''Ben Huebsch was a Communist and had quietly offered his services to the Hiss defense", based on an unsigned memo dated January 27, 1949, from Meyer Zeligs, further cited by ''Twilight of the Intellectuals''(1999) In 1934, Huebsch did help celebrate the tenth anniversary of Alexander Trachtenberg's International Publishers, the (un)official publisher for the CPUSA—along with other publishers, including Bennet Cerf of

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

, Alfred Knopf of Knopf Publishing, W. W. Norton of W. W. Norton & Company, John Chamberlain of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', and Lewis Gannett of the '' Herald Tribune''. Huebsch joined the League of American Writers, a Popular Front group organized by the Communist Party in 1935 and disbanded in 1943. (His relative Edward Huebsch was also a member.) He was a long-time member of P.E.N. and served on numerous boards there. He began serving as a board member of the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...

(ACLU) upon its founding by

Roger Nash Baldwin Roger Nash Baldwin (January 21, 1884 – August 26, 1981) was one of the founders of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). He served as executive director of the ACLU until 1950. Many of the ACLU's original landmark cases took place under h ...

and served as its treasurer from 1926 until his death in 1964. (The ACLU supported Free Speech in the U.S., and so would have supported Huebsch's earlier publications of books by Lawrence, Joyce, and Anderson amidst controversial

Free Speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recognise ...

issues of the time.) He represented the book industry on a U.S. National Committee for

Unesco The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

in 1949. He helped establish the National Association of Book Publishers.

Personal and death

In 1920, Huebsch married Alfhild Lamm. Huebsch had a close relationship with James Joyce, documented in correspondence. He died in London on August 7, 1964.

Awards

* 1964 - Irita Van Doren Award (first ever)

Legacy

Huebsch's papers are archived at the Library of Congress, with documentation completed in 2013. It contains correspondence with an extraordinary range of writers and intellectuals. Marshall A. Best started as apprentice to Huebsch at B.W. Huebsch in 1923, right after graduating from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, continued with Huebsch at Viking Press in 1925, became one of Viking's chief editors and eventually chairman of its executive committee. Best worked with numerous American authors, including: Erskine Caldwell (a client of Maxim Lieber), Sheldon Cheney,

Malcolm Cowley Malcolm Cowley (August 24, 1898 – March 27, 1989) was an American writer, editor, historian, poet, and literary critic. His best known works include his first book of poetry, ''Blue Juniata'' (1929), and his memoir, ''Exile's Return'' ( ...

, Howard Mumford Jones, Rex Stout, Theodore Morrison, Dorothy Parker, Alexander Woollcott, Wallace Stegner, Lionel Trilling. He also worked with many British authors, including:

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a re ...

, Rebecca West, Sylvia Townsend Warner,

, and

Iris Murdoch Dame Jean Iris Murdoch ( ; 15 July 1919 – 8 February 1999) was an Irish and British novelist and philosopher. Murdoch is best known for her novels about good and evil, sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious. Her fi ...

. Other authors include R.K. Narayan of India and Patrick White of Australia. With Pascal Covici in 1943, he developed the "Viking Portable Library" and served as its general editor (75 titles of comprehensive anthologies of works by an established author, period, or subject). He also served as treasurer of the American P.E.N. Center. During WWII, he served on the Council on Books in Wartime and the Armed Services Editions.

References

External links

*
Finding aid to B. W. Huebsch papers at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

Roger Nash Baldwin Papers 1885-1996
correspondence dated 1964 {{DEFAULTSORT:Huebsch, Bw American book publishers (people) 1876 births 1964 deaths