Appleton-Century Company

D. Appleton & Company was an American publishing company founded by Daniel Appleton, who opened a general store which included books. He published his first book in 1831. The company's publications gradually extended over the entire field of literature. It issued the works of contemporary scientists at moderate prices, for example, Herbert Spencer, John Tyndall, Thomas Huxley, Charles Darwin, etc. Medical books formed a special department, and books in the Spanish language for the South American market were a specialty which the firm made its own. In ''belles lettres'' and American history, it had a strong list of names among its authors.

Timeline

* 1813 Relocated from Haverhill to Boston and imported books from England
* 1825 Relocated New York City and entered the book business with brother-in-law Jonathan Leavitt
* 1831 Published first book: ''Crumbs from the Master's Table'' by William Mason (1719–1791)
* 1848 Daniel Appleton retired; son William Henry Appleton (1814–1899) formed a partnership with his brothers, John Adams Appleton (1817–1881), George Swett Appleton (1821–1878), Daniel Sidney Appleton (1824–1890), and Samuel Francis Appleton (1826–1883)
* 1849 Death of Daniel Appleton
* 1857 First New York trade publisher to engage in subscription publishing
* 1869 ''Appleton's Journal'' started
* 1872 ''Popular Science Monthly'' magazine and ''International Scientific Series'' started by editor Edward L. Youmans
* 1875 Original publication of the memoirs of General William Tecumseh Sherman, one of the first such publications by a Civil War general
* 1881 Relocated from Leonard Street and Broadway, to Bond Street, New York City; ''Journal'' becomes Appleton's Magazine
* 1890 Co-founded American Book Company, a conglomerate including D. Appleton & Company
* 1894 Published ''Songs of the Soil'' by Frank Lebby Stanton
* 1900 Filed for bankruptcy and sold ''Popular Science''; re-organized by Joseph H. Sears of Harper's
* 1905 ''Appleton's Magazine'' renamed ''Appleton's Booklovers Magazine''

* 1919 J. W. Hiltman named president
* 1924 Purchased Stewart and Kidd, founded in 1914
* 1931 Published ''I Sailed with Chinese Pirates'' by Aleko E. Lilius
* 1933 Merged with The Century Company, founded in 1881, to form the Appleton-Century Company
* 1945 Sold hymn books department to Revell Publishing
* 1948 Merged with F. S. Crofts Co., founded in 1924, to form Appleton-Century-Crofts.

Publishing highlights

*
*''The Red Badge of Courage'' by Stephen Crane, 1895
*'' Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings'' by Joel Chandler Harris, 1880
*''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' by Lewis Carroll, 1865, first U.S. edition
*''Appletons' Cyclopædia of Biography'' in 1 volume, 1856, edited by Francis L. Hawks, added American biographies to the volume edited by Elihu Rich and published in 1854 by Richard Griffin & Company (London).
*''Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography'' in 6 volumes, 1887, edited by James Grant Wilson and John Fiske
*'' Appleton's Railroad and Steamboat Guide'', 1847
*'' New American Cyclopedia'' in 16 volumes, edited by George Ripley and Charles Anderson Dana, 1857–1863; revised and enlarged as ''American Cyclopedia'' (1873–1876)
* ''Progress and Poverty'' 1880
* '' Annual Cyclopedia'' for the years 1861–1901, annual
*''Johnson's Universal Cyclopaedia'' 1893, in 8 volumes edited by Charles Kendall Adams. The rights were acquired from Alvin J. Johnson & Co.
*''Universal Cyclopaedia'' 1900, in 12 volumes derived from ''Johnson's Universal Cyclopaedia''. Edited by Charles Kendall Adams, and from 1902 by Rossiter Johnson, with title Universal Cyclopaedia and Atlas
*''The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia'', 1889–1891, New Century Dictionary 1927–c. 1963
*''Picturesque America'' by William Cullen Bryant, 1872
*Unabridged English Dictionary 1859
*works of Jonathan Edwards, 1834 (1703–1758)
*science works of Charles Darwin (1809–1882)
*''Diseases of the Heart and Arterial System'', by Dr. Robert Hall Babcock (1903)
*''Diseases of the Lungs'' by Dr. Robert Hall Babcock (1907)
*Memoirs of William Tecumseh Sherman (1820—1891)
*The Works of Rudyard Kipling uthorized Editions15 Volumes (1899)
*literary works of Henry James (1843–1916)
*art works of Edith Wharton (1862–1937)
*architectural works of Stanford White (d. 1906)
*''Gems of British Art'', 1857
*work of Thomas Henry Huxley, 1880
*''From the Manger to the Throne 1880—1889'' by REV. T. DeWitt Talmage, D.D.
*''American Negro Slavery'' by Ulrich Bonnell Phillips, 1918
*''The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government'' by Jefferson Davis
*''A Journey in Other Worlds'' by John Jacob Astor

Gallery

Image:1856 Appletons Book Store 346 & 348 Broadway New York.png, Appletons' bookshop, 346 & 348 Broadway, New York, 1856
Image:1867 Appletons Railway and Steam Navigation Guide June.png, ''Appletons' Railway and Steam Navigation Guide'', 1867
Image:1870s D Appleton & Co stereoscopic views and implements Broadway NYC LC detail2.jpg, Display of D. Appleton & Co. stereoscopic views and implements, 1870s
Image:Robbins & Appleton Building.jpg, Robbins & Appleton Building, New York, built 1880 (photo 2010)

See also

* Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography
* American Cyclopædia
* Appleton's Magazine
* Appletons' travel guides

References

External links

Appleton-Century MSS
* NYPL
Portraits
of William H. Appleton, Daniel Appleton, founder, John A. Appleton, George Appleton, Daniel Sidney Appleton.
* Library of Congress
Photo, 2007
Second Floor Corridor. Printers' marks+Columns. Printer's mark of D. Appleton and Co. in North Corridor. Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C.
* This has information on the firm's evolution.
* Open Library
D. Appleton and CompanyFinding aid to D. Appleton and Co. Correspondence at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

{{DEFAULTSORT:D. Appleton and Company
1825 establishments in New York (state)
Publishing companies established in 1825
Defunct book publishing companies of the United States
American companies established in 1825
Appleton family