Frederick Warne (13 October 1825 – 17 November 1901) was a British publisher, founder of

Frederick Warne & Co Frederick Warne & Co. is a British publisher founded in 1865. It is known for children's books, particularly those of Beatrix Potter, and for its Observer's Books. Warne is an imprint of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media cong ...

Early life and career

Warne was born in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

in 1825, sixth and youngest son of the twelve children of Edmund Warne, a builder, and his wife Matilda. After being privately educated in Soho, at the age of fourteen, he joined his brother William Henry Warne (d. 1859), and his brother-in-law George Routledge, in the retail bookselling business which Routledge had founded in 1836 in Ryder's Court, Leicester Square. Routledge established a publishing business in 1843, and in 1851 Warne became a partner in the firm, which was then styled Routledge & Co.; the name was changed to Routledge, Warne & Routledge in 1858 on Routledge's son, Robert Warne Routledge, becoming a partner. From 1851 to 1865, Warne was largely identified with the success of the firm. In 1865, on the advice of the publisher George Smith, of Smith, Elder & Co., Warne began an independent publishing career; he was joined by Edward James Dodd (a lifelong friend and colleague at Routledge's), and by A. W. Duret, who left the firm of

Dalziel Brothers The Brothers Dalziel (pronounced ) was a prolific wood-engraving business in Victorian London, founded in 1839 by George Dalziel. The Dalziel family In 1840, George (1 December 1815 – 4 August 1902) was joined in the business by his brother E ...

to join him. An American branch was established in New York in 1881.

Chandos Classics, Nuttall's Dictionary

Warne effectively emulated Routledge's ambition to popularise well-regarded literature. In 1868 he inaugurated ''The Chandos Classics'':The Chandos Classics/Library (Frederick Warne) - Book Series List
publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 8 April 2017. there were 154 titles in the series, and five million copies were sold. The series included an edition of Shakespeare which sold 340,000 copies. ''Nuttall's Dictionary'', which was originally published by Routledge, Warne & Routledge in 1863, was first issued by Warne in January 1867, when 668,000 copies were soon sold. In 1886 a revised edition appeared, which sold nearly one million copies by 1911.

Children's books

Warne was active in the publication of coloured

picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...

s for children. He inaugurated a new era between 1870 and 1880 by his issue of the '' Aunt Louisa'' books, which were followed by new editions of Edward Lear's ''A Book of Nonsense'', by the children's books (1878–1885) of

Randolph Caldecott Randolph Caldecott (; 22 March 1846 – 12 February 1886) was a British artist and illustrator, born in Chester. The Caldecott Medal was named in his honour. He exercised his art chiefly in book illustrations. His abilities as an artist were pro ...

, and later by the works of Kate Greenaway and

Walter Crane Walter Crane (15 August 184514 March 1915) was an English artist and book illustrator. He is considered to be the most influential, and among the most prolific, children's book creators of his generation and, along with Randolph Caldecott and Ka ...

. In the field of fiction Warne issued Benjamin Disraeli's novels before their transfer to Messrs.

Longman Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publishing company founded in London, England, in 1724 and is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman brand is also ...

in 1870, and published in London most of

Frances Hodgson Burnett Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 – 29 October 1924) was a British-American novelist and playwright. She is best known for the three children's novels ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' (published in 1885–1886), '' A Little ...

's novels, including ''

Little Lord Fauntleroy ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was published as a serial in ''St. Nicholas Magazine'' from November 1885 to October 1886, then as a book by Scribner's (the publisher of ''St. Nicholas'') in 1886. The ill ...

'' (1886).

Magazines

He also first introduced to the English reading public the three American magazines ''

The Century Magazine ''The Century Magazine'' was an illustrated monthly magazine first published in the United States in 1881 by The Century Company of New York City, which had been bought in that year by Roswell Smith and renamed by him after the Century Associatio ...

'', '' St. Nicholas Magazine'', and ''

Scribner's Monthly ''Scribner's Monthly: An Illustrated Magazine for the People'' was an illustrated American literary periodical published from 1870 until 1881. Following a change in ownership in 1881 of the company that had produced it, the magazine was relaunch ...

''.

Later life

In 1895, Warne and Dodd, his business partner, left the business (Duret had retired in 1879), and he was succeeded by his three surviving sons, Harold Edmund, William Fruing and Norman. He died at his home, 8

Bedford Square Bedford Square is a garden square in the Bloomsbury district of the Borough of Camden in London, England. History Built between 1775 and 1783 as an upper middle class residential area, the square has had many distinguished residents, inclu ...

, on 7 November 1901, and was buried at

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

. He married on 6 July 1852, Louisa Jane, daughter of William Fruing of Jersey: they had seven sons and three daughters. Three sons and two daughters survived him.

References

Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Warne, Frederick 1825 births 1901 deaths British book publishers (people) People from Westminster Burials at Highgate Cemetery Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom 19th-century British businesspeople