Cassell is a British book publishing house founded in 1848 by John Cassell (1817–1865), which became in the 1890s an international publishing group company. In 1995, Cassell plc acquired

Pinter Publishers Pinter Publishers was a British publishing company set up in 1973 by Frances Pinter, at the age of 23. It focused on the social sciences and is believed to be the first British publishing company owned by a woman. Pinter Publishers earned a re ...

. In December 1998, Cassell plc was bought by the

Orion Publishing Group Orion Publishing Group Ltd. is a UK-based book publisher. It was founded in 1991 and acquired Weidenfeld & Nicolson the following year. The group has published numerous bestselling books by notable authors including Ian Rankin, Michael Connell ...

. In January 2002, Cassell imprints, including the Cassell Reference and Cassell Military, were joined with the Weidenfeld imprints to form a new division under the name of

Weidenfeld & Nicolson Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd (established 1949), often shortened to W&N or Weidenfeld, is a British publisher of fiction and reference books. It has been a division of the French-owned Orion Publishing Group since 1991. History George Weidenfeld ...

Ltd. Cassell Illustrated survives as an imprint of the

Octopus Publishing Group An octopus (: octopuses or octopodes) is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed Mollusca, mollusc of the order (biology), order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, ...

History

John Cassell (1817–1865), who was in turn a carpenter, temperance preacher, tea and coffee merchant, finally turned to publishing. His first publication was on 1 July 1848, a weekly newspaper called ''The Standard of Freedom'', advocating religious, political, and commercial freedom. '' The Working Man's Friend'' became another popular publication. In 1849 Cassell was dividing his time between his publishing and his grocery business. In 1851, his expanding interests led to his renting part of La Belle Sauvage, a London inn that had been a playhouse in Elizabethan times. The former inn was demolished in 1873 to make way for a railway viaduct, with the company building new premises behind. Thomas Dixon Galpin who came from Dorchester in Dorset and George William Petter who was born in

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...

in Devon were partners in a printing firm and on John Cassell's bankruptcy in June 1855 acquired the publishing company and Cassell's debts. Between 1855 and 1858 the printing firm operated as Petter and Galpin and their work was published by W. Kent & Co. John Cassell was relegated to being a junior partner after becoming insolvent in 1858, the firm being known as Cassell, Petter & Galpin. With the arrival of a new partner, Robert Turner, in 1878, it became Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Company. Galpin was the astute business manager.Galpin Family History
(Rootsweb). Petter retired in 1883 and the company then became Cassell and Company, Ltd. "The company expanded well until 1888, when Petter died, Galpin retired from managing directorship, and Turner became chairman." One July 1887 newspaper advertisement for

Cassell's National Library ''Cassell's National Library'' was a weekly series issued by Cassell & Company of London, comprising English literature edited by Henry Morley. From 1886 to 1889 it issued 209 weekly volumes. These were sold for 3d. in paper covers and 6d. cloth- ...

, and other libraries, displays the footer "CASSELL & COMPANY, Limited, Ludgate-Hill, London, Paris, New York, and Melbourne". Sir Thomas Wemyss Reid was general manager until 1905, when Arthur Spurgeon took over and revitalized the firm. Mainly magazine publishers, Spurgeon concentrated on reviving the book business. In the early 1950s, Cassell's commissioned a nude statue of Princess Pocahontas by the sculptor

David McFall David Bernard McFall (12 December 1919 – 18 September 1988) was a Scottish sculptor. Born in Glasgow, McFall studied at the Junior School of Arts and Crafts in Birmingham from 1931 to 1934, and at the Birmingham School of Art from 1934 to 1 ...

for their new premises at

Red Lion Square Red Lion Square is a small square in Holborn, London. The square was laid out in 1684 by Nicholas Barbon, taking its name from the Red Lion Inn. According to some sources, the bodies of three regicides—Oliver Cromwell, John Bradshaw and H ...

. This decision stemmed from the loss of

Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as "the greatest artist-craftsma ...

's iconic "little naked lady with tiger skin and bow and arrows", the house colophon, which was destroyed during German bombing raids on their former location in Belle Sauvage Yard. The larger-than-life statue of Pocahontas, an emblem of their renewed identity, adorned the entrance of their headquarters. In 1969, Cassell was acquired by the American company Crowell Collier & Macmillan (later renamed Macmillan Inc.). Crowell Collier & Macmillan had previously acquired the art publisher

Studio Vista Studio Vista was a British publishing company founded in 1961 that specialised in leisure and design topics. In the 1960s, the firm published works by a number of authors who went on to be noted designers. The imprint was later integrated into C ...

and religious publisher Geoffrey Chapman. During the 1970s and 1980s, Cassell had a branch in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

known as Cassell Australia. Macmillan Inc. sold Cassell, including Geoffrey Chapman, to

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

in 1982. CBS sold Cassell in a buyout in 1986. In October 1992, Cassell bought

Victor Gollancz Ltd 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 ...

from

Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...

. The company went public as Cassell plc in June 1994. As Cassell's fortunes fluctuated, the firm eventually relocated from their grand offices on Red Lion Square, taking the statue of Pocahontas with them. It is believed that the statue of Pocahontas was sold at auction in 1996 to a private collector. In December 1998, Cassell plc was taken over by

. In October 1999, Cassell's academic and religious lists (including Geoffrey Chapman and Pinter imprints) were merged with the American company Continuum to form the

Continuum International Publishing Group Continuum International Publishing Group was an academic publisher of books with editorial offices in London and New York City. It was purchased by Nova Capital Management in 2005. In July 2011, it was taken over by Bloomsbury Publishing. , all n ...

as part of management buyout.

Cassell's former book series

* Belle Sauvage Library (1963) * Cassell's Blue Library (1891) * Cassell’s National Library (1886–1914) * Cassell’s Pocket Library (1895, 1928–1955) * Cassell's Pocket Reference Library (1910) * Cassell’s Shilling Novels (1885–1934) * First Novel Library (1966–1971) * Helicon Poetry Series (1925) * Little Classics (1909) * Living Thoughts Library (1939–1950)The Living Thoughts Library (Cassell & Co.) - Book Series List
publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 15 February 2023. * People’s Library (1907–1933) * Seafarers’ Library (1928–1929) * The Unknown Library (fl. 1895)

Cassell's former periodicals

* ''

Cassell's Magazine ''Cassell's Magazine'' is a British magazine that was published monthly from 1897 to 1912. It was the successor to ''Cassell's Illustrated Family Paper'', (1853–1867) becoming ''Cassell's Family Magazine'' in 1874, ''Cassell's Magazine'' in 1897 ...

'' (1864–73) * ''Cassell's household guide : being a complete encyclopaedia of domestic and social economy and forming a guide to every department of practical life'' (1869) * ''Cassell's Illustrated Travels'' fl.1872–3 * '' Cassell's Family Magazine'' (1874–97) * ''

'' (1897–1912) * ''Cassell's Saturday Journal'' (1883–1921) * ''Cassell's Weekly'' (1923), then '' T.P.'s & Cassell's Weekly'' (1923–1927) * '' Chums'' (1892–1934) * '' The Echo'' (1868–1905) * ''The Lady's World'' (1886), then ''

The Woman's World ''The Woman's World'' was a Victorian women's magazine published by Orion Publishing Group, Cassell between 1886 and 1890, edited by Oscar Wilde between 1887 and 1889, and by Ella Hepworth Dixon from 1888.. Foundation In the late nineteenth ce ...

'' (1887–1890), edited by

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

* ''Little Folks'' (1871–1933), edited by

Sam Hield Hamer Sam Hield Hamer (27 July 1869 – 6 February 1941) was an English writer and editor, mostly for children, but was also well-regarded as a travel writer. Born in Islington, a son of John Hamer, a Justice of the Peace, and Sarah Sharp Hamer (née ...

(1895–1907) * ''The Illustrated Magazine of Art'' (1853–54), then ''

The Magazine of Art ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' (1878–1904) * ''The New Magazine'' (1909–1927) * ''The New Penny Magazine'' (1898–1902), then ''The Penny Magazine'' (1903–1925), and ''Cassell's Popular Magazine'' (1925) * ''

The Quiver ''The Quiver'' (18611956) was a weekly magazine published by Cassell's and was "designed for the defence and promotion of biblical truth and the advance of religion in the homes of the people." History John Cassell (18171865), the English pu ...

'' (1861–1956) * ''

The Story-Teller ''The Story-Teller'' was a monthly British pulp magazine, pulp Literary magazine, fiction magazine from 1907 to 1937. ''The Story-Teller'' is notable for having published some of the works of prominent authors, including G. K. Chesterton, Will ...

'' (1907–1937) * ''Work'' (1889–1924)

References

External links

Cassell and Co

1848 establishments in England

Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom

British companies established in 1848

Lagardère Media

Publishing companies based in London

Publishing companies established in 1848

Tea houses of the United Kingdom

History

Cassell's former book series

Cassell's former periodicals

See also

References

Further reading

External links