Ernest Benn Limited was a British publishing house.

Sir John Benn

Founded by Sir John Benn as Benn Brothers in 1880, it started as the publisher of the

trade journal A trade magazine, also called a trade journal or trade paper (colloquially or disparagingly a trade rag), is a magazine or newspaper whose target audience is people who work in a particular trade or industry. The collective term for this ...

, ''The Cabinet Maker''."John Benn", Spartacus Educational
/ref>

Ernest Benn

After Sir John was elected to Parliament in 1892, he passed control of the firm to his eldest son

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People * Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor * Ernest, ...

, who became managing director and started publishing more trade journals, such as ''Gas World'', the ''Fruit Grower'' and the ''Electrician'', as well as "technical books for each specialized public". In 1923, Ernest changed the name of the firm to Ernest Benn Limited. However, the name 'Benn Brothers' was subsequently revived with the formation of Benn Brothers plc. Benn hired

Victor Gollancz Sir Victor Gollancz (; 9 April 1893 – 8 February 1967) was a British publisher and humanitarian. Gollancz was known as a supporter of left-wing causes. His loyalties shifted between liberalism and communism, but he defined himself as a Chris ...

in 1921. Gollancz published a very successful series of art books. He later recruited the writers

Edith Nesbit Edith Nesbit (married name Edith Bland; 15 August 1858 – 4 May 1924) was an English writer and poet, who published her books for children as E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on more than 60 such books. She was also a political activist a ...

Robert W. Service Robert William Service (January 16, 1874 – September 11, 1958) was a British-Canadian poet and writer, often called "the Bard of the Yukon". The middle name 'William' was in honour of a rich uncle. When that uncle neglected to provide for hi ...

and

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

Victor Gollancz Limited Victor Gollancz Ltd () was a major British book publishing house of the twentieth century and continues to publish science fiction and fantasy titles as an imprint of Orion Publishing Group. Gollancz was founded in 1927 by Victor Gollancz, an ...

. The firm published a number of books for children and young people, including ''

The Story of the Amulet ''The Story of the Amulet'' is a novel for children, written in 1906 by English author Edith Nesbit. It is the final part of a trilogy of novels that also includes ''Five Children and It'' (1902) and '' The Phoenix and the Carpet'' (1904). ...

'' (1927) by

E. Nesbit Edith Nesbit (married name Edith Bland; 15 August 1858 – 4 May 1924) was an English writer and poet, who published her books for children as E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on more than 60 such books. She was also a political activist a ...

, ''

Moominsummer Madness ''Moominsummer Madness'' (Swedish title ''Farlig midsommar'', or "Dangerous Midsummer") is the fifth in the series of Tove Jansson's Moomins books, published in 1954. The major theme of the novel is theatre, described as an infuriating but ultim ...

'' (1955) by

Tove Jansson Tove Marika Jansson (; 9 August 1914 – 27 June 2001) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish author, novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author. Brought up by artistic parents, Jansson studied art from 1930 to 1938 in Stockholm, Helsinki and ...

, ''Donkey Days'' (1977) by

Helen Cresswell Helen Cresswell (11 July 1934 – 26 September 2005) was an English television scriptwriter and author of more than 100 children's books, best known for comedy and supernatural fiction. Her most popular book series, '' Lizzie Dripping'' and '' T ...

, and ''Sybil and the Blue Rabbit'' (1979) by Jane Johnson.

Book series

In addition to individual books, Ernest Benn Limited was known for a number of series: * Benn's Essex Library * Benn's Yellow Books * The Blue Guides – travel guides (previously published by Muirhead) * Chats Series: Practical Handbooks for Collectors * Contemporary British Artists * Contemporary British Dramatists * Drawings of the Great Masters * Kai Khosru Monographs on Eastern Art * Leaders in Philosophy * Mermaid Critical Commentaries * Mermaid Series – reprints of English Elizabethan, Jacobean and Restoration plays * The

New Mermaids New Mermaids is a series of critical editions of important English plays. They were published from the early 1960s by Ernest Benn LimitedSixpenny Library – early paperback educational series * Sixpenny Poets *Stead's Poets, begun by W. T. Stead in 1895 and re-issued by Benn from ?–1926 * Stories of the Commonwealth Series * Tolley Tax Guides * University College (London) Monographs on English Mediæval Art

1980s

Ernest Benn Ltd, along with Benn Brothers plc and the other members of the Benn Group of Companies, was taken over by the

Extel The Exchange Telegraph Co. Ltd. (also known as Extel) was created in March 1872 specifically to distribute financial and business information from the London Stock Exchange and other commercial markets direct to subscribers. The company establishe ...

Group in June 1983.Eric L Harvey, A Short History of Tolley, p 4

was taken over by

United Newspapers UBM plc was a British business-to-business (B2B) events organiser headquartered in London, England, before its acquisition by Informa in 2018. It had a long history as a multinational media company. Its main focus was on B2B events, but its pr ...

in 1987.

References

Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom Publishing companies established in 1880 1880 establishments in the United Kingdom {{publisher-stub