Cyrus Hermann Kotzschmar Curtis
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Cyrus Hermann Kotzschmar Curtis (June 18, 1850June 7, 1933) was an American publisher of magazines and newspapers, including the ''
Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In 18 ...
'' and '' The Saturday Evening Post''.Ingham, John N. Biographical Dictionary of American Business Leaders: A-G. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1983, pp. 230–234.


Biography

Born in Portland, Maine, Curtis was compelled to leave high school after his first year to start working, as in 1866 his family lost their home in the Great Fire of Portland. He held a variety of newspaper and advertising jobs in Portland and Boston before starting his first publication, a weekly called the ''People's Ledger'', in Boston in 1872. In 1876, he moved to Philadelphia, then a major publishing center, to reduce his printing costs. Curtis's first wife was Louisa Knapp. In 1883, Knapp contributed a one-page supplement to the ''Tribune and Farmer'', a magazine published by Curtis. The following year, the supplement was expanded as an independent publication with Louisa as the editor. Its original name was ''The Ladies Home Journal and Practical Housekeeper'', but Knapp dropped the last three words in 1886. ''The Ladies' Home Journal'' rapidly became the leading magazine of its type, reaching a circulation of one million subscriptions within ten years. It was the first American magazine to do so. Louisa Knapp continued as editor until 1889 when she was succeeded by
Edward William Bok Edward William Bok (born Eduard Willem Gerard Cesar Hidde Bok) (October 9, 1863 – January 9, 1930) was a Dutch-born American editor and Pulitzer Prize-winning author. He was editor of the '' Ladies' Home Journal'' for 30 years (1889–1919). ...
. Several years later Bok married
Mary Louise Curtis Mary Louise Curtis (August 6, 1876 in Boston, Massachusetts – January 4, 1970 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)Bok, Edward W. (1920) ''The Americanization of Edward Bok''. Lakeside Classics edition, R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co., Chicago, Illinois, ...
in 1896, becoming the Curtises' son-in-law. Bok retired from the magazine in 1919, but the changes he made had vastly increased circulation. Bok introduced business practices such as: low subscription rates, inclusion of advertising to off-set costs, and reliance on popular content. This operating structure was adopted by men's magazines such as '' McClure's'' and ''Munsey's'' roughly a decade after it had become the standard practice of American women's magazines. Scholars argue that women's magazines, like the ''Ladies' Home Journal'', pioneered these strategies
magazine revolution
. Curtis founded the Curtis Publishing Company in 1891; it would eventually publish ''
Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In 18 ...
'', '' The Saturday Evening Post'', ''Holiday'', and others. A separate company founded by Curtis, Curtis-Martin Newspapers, controlled several newspapers, including for a time the '' Philadelphia Public Ledger'', '' The Philadelphia Inquirer'', and the '' New York Evening Post''. Management mistakes at the newspapers led to poor financial returns, and eventually, they were sold. While Curtis was alive, his businesses, excepting the newspapers, were generally extremely successful. ''The Ladies Home Journal'' was for decades the most widely circulating women's magazine in the US, and ''The Saturday Evening Post'' enjoyed the highest circulation of any weekly magazine in the world. In 1929, the ''Post'' and the ''Journal'' together ran fully forty percent of all US magazine advertising. One source lists Curtis as the 51st richest person ever, with a fortune of $43.2 billion adjusted for inflation (to 2008 dollars), which according to this source made him richer than J. P. Morgan. Curtis built ''Lyndon'', a Renaissance revival estate in Wyncote, Pennsylvania, with landscaping designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. Two of Curtis's yachts, built 1907 and 1920, were named ''Lyndonia''. Curtis was more than an occasional sailor, however, noting in a 1922 '' New York Times'' interview, " Yachting is not a hobby with me. It is a necessity. I spend half my time on this ship," and further noting that most of his meetings with staff or board members were held in the second ''Lyndonia's'' dining room. Curtis had three large yachts built at Charles L. Seabury Co.: the 115-foot ''Machigonne'' in 1904;Not to be confused with the ''Machigonne'' built by the same builder in 1909 for William L. Douglas and later USS ''Machigonne'' (SP 507). the 163-foot ''Lyndonia'' in 1907; and the 228-foot ''Lyndonia'' in 1920.Both yachts named ''Lyndonia'' saw later service. ''Lyndonia'' of 1907 as the World War I ''Vega'' (SP 734) and ''Lyndonia'' of 1920 as Pan American World Airways' ''Southern Seas'' until it was commandeered by the US armed services for use in the
Pacific theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
during World War II.
Curtis was a founding member of the Camden Yacht Club in Camden, Maine, and its Commodore from 1909 to 1933, later donating the club's facilities to the town. In the summer of 1932, Curtis suffered a heart attack while aboard his yacht, the second ''Lyndonia''. While he was recuperating at Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia, his second wife, Kate Stanwood Cutter Pillsbury Curtis, died suddenly. Curtis then remained in frail health until his death on June 7, 1933, less than two weeks before his eighty-third birthday, and he was interred at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. Soon after his death, most of the buildings on Curtis's estate were demolished, and his daughter founded the '' Curtis Arboretum'' on the site. After the Curtis Publishing Company moved to
Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
, Indiana, in 1982, the company's former headquarters on Independence Square in downtown Philadelphia became the ''Curtis Center'', home to a conference center, offices, a health club, retail shops, and restaurants. Cyrus Curtis was among the first ten inductees in the American Advertising Federation's Advertising Hall of Fame (1999).


Philanthropy

Cyrus Curtis remains #20 on the list of the richest Americans ever. He was known for his
philanthropy Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
to hospitals, museums, universities, and schools. He donated $2 million to the Franklin Institute, for example; $1.25 million to the Drexel Institute of Technology for the construction of Curtis Hall; and $1 million to the University of Pennsylvania. He also purchased a
pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...
manufactured by the Austin Organ Company that had been displayed at the Philadelphia Sesquicentennial Exposition of 1926 and donated it to the University of Pennsylvania. It was incorporated into Irvine Auditorium when the building was constructed and is known to this day as the ''
Curtis Organ The Curtis Organ, named for publisher Cyrus H.K. Curtis, is one of the largest pipe organs in the world with 162 ranks and 10,731 pipes. The concert organ, of American Symphonic design, was manufactured by the Austin Organ Company as its Opus 14 ...
'', one of the largest
pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...
s in the world. (The largest is said to reside in Philadelphia's
John Wanamaker John Wanamaker (July 11, 1838December 12, 1922) was an American merchant and religious, civic and political figure, considered by some to be a proponent of advertising and a "pioneer in marketing". He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a ...
Building, only twenty blocks east of Irvine Auditorium.) Curtis donated pipe organs to many institutions in Philadelphia and on the day of his funeral, all of those organs were played in his honor. In memory of his boyhood music teacher,
Hermann Kotzschmar Johann Carl Hermann Kotzschmar (July 4, 1829April 15, 1908) was a German-American musician, conductor, and composer. Kotzschmar was born in 1829 in Finsterwalde, Germany. His father, Johann Gottfried Kotzschmar, was the town ''Stadtmusiker'' and t ...
, for whom he had been named, Curtis in 1912 donated the
Kotzschmar Memorial Organ The Kotzschmar Memorial Organ, usually referred to as the Kotzschmar Organ, is a pipe organ located at Merrill Auditorium in the City Hall of Portland, Maine, United States. History Built in 1911 by the Austin Organ Co. as Opus 323, the Kot ...
to Maine's Portland City Hall Auditorium.Kotzschmar Organ
In Thomaston, Maine, he funded the 1927–29 recreation of ''Montpelier'', the demolished 1795 mansion of Revolutionary War general Henry Knox. Curtis was a major organizer and backer of the
Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...
, founded in 1900. In its early years, he paid off its debts anonymously. Curtis's daughter,
Mary Louise Curtis Bok Mary Louise Curtis (August 6, 1876 in Boston, Massachusetts – January 4, 1970 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)Bok, Edward W. (1920) ''The Americanization of Edward Bok''. Lakeside Classics edition, R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co., Chicago, Illinois, ...
, founded Philadelphia's
Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...
in 1924 and dedicated it to her father.


Gallery

Image:Curtis residence.jpg, ''Lyndon'' (1895), Wyncote, PA. Demolished, except for the 1903 ballroom addition, now Curtis Hall.Anonymous. ''After Curtis'' Time magazine, Monday, Jul. 17, 1933
/ref> File:Curtis Hall II.JPG, Curtis Hall (1903), Church Rd. & Greenwood Ave., Wyncote, PA. File:USS Lyndonia SP-734.jpg, '' The Lyndonia'' (built 1907). File:Curtis building.jpg, Curtis Building (1910), 6th & Walnut Sts., Philadelphia, PA. File:Curtis Dream Garden.jpg, ''Dream Garden'' mosaic (1916) by Louis Comfort Tiffany and Maxfield Parrish, in the Curtis Building. File:Curtis Institute of Music - IMG 6559.JPG,
Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...
(est. 1924), 18th & Locust Sts., Philadelphia, PA.


Notes


References


External links


A biography of Curtis

Curtis's page at the Advertising Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curtis, Cyrus Hermann Kotzschmar 1850 births 1933 deaths
Cyrus Cyrus (Persian: کوروش) is a male given name. It is the given name of a number of Persian kings. Most notably it refers to Cyrus the Great ( BC). Cyrus is also the name of Cyrus I of Anshan ( BC), King of Persia and the grandfather of Cyrus t ...
People from Cheltenham, Pennsylvania Businesspeople from Philadelphia Businesspeople from Portland, Maine 19th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesspeople American magazine founders American newspaper chain founders American media executives American philanthropists Burials at West Laurel Hill Cemetery Ladies' Home Journal