Erastus Flavel Beadle (September 9, 1821 – December 18, 1894) was an American printer and pioneer in publishing

pulp fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence ...

Biography

Erastus was born in

Otsego County, New York Otsego County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,524. The county seat is Cooperstown. The county's population center is Oneonta. The name ''Otsego'' is from a Mohawk or Oneida word m ...

, United States, in 1821, and had a brother, Irwin Pedro Beadle (1826-1882), who assisted him in various business undertakings. They were the grandsons of Benjamin Beadle, a Revolutionary War soldier. After a hiatus in Michigan, the Beadle family moved to New York, and lived in

Chautauqua County, New York Chautauqua County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 127,657. Its county seat is Mayville, and its largest city is Jamestown. Its name is believed to be the lone surviving rem ...

. Erastus worked for a miller named Hayes, where he began his printing career when cutting wooden letters to label bags of grain. In 1838, he was apprenticed to ''H. & E. Phinney'', a publishing firm in

Cooperstown, New York Cooperstown is a village in and the county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in ...

. There he learned typesetting,

stereotyping In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...

, binding, and engraving. He married Mary Ann Pennington (d.1889) in 1846, and in 1847 the couple moved to

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, where Erastus worked as a stereotyper. In 1849 Irwin went to Buffalo too, and found a job as a bookbinder. The next year, in 1850, the Beadle brothers set up their own stereotype foundry. Their first publishing venture was the magazine "Youth's Casket", started in 1852. Irwin left the company in 1856 and went to the

Nebraska Territory The Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Nebraska. The Nebrask ...

where he acted as a secretary for a company settling the town of Saratoga. The town was busted in the

Panic of 1857 The Panic of 1857 was a financial crisis in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy. Because of the invention of the telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission ...

, and Beadle returned to New York shortly thereafter.The Beadle Collection of Dime Novels. Given to the New York Public Library By Dr. Frank P. O'Brien
''New York Public Library Bulletin, May–June, 1922''

Books for the millions

In 1860, after finally settling down in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, Irwin came with an idea to publish, first, ten-cent booklets, and then, a series of paper-covered novels at the same price, which brought him recognition and commercial success. On June 7, 1860, the

New-York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' (from 1914: ''New York Tribune'') was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s ...

advertised the first book in the dime novel series, ''Indian Wife of the White Hunter'' written by Ann S. Stephens by printing the following, "Books for the Millions! A dollar book for the dime. 128 pages complete, only Ten Cents!!! Beadle's dime novels No. 1 Maleska." Many established as well as aspiring writers took part in the project geared towards the masses, including William Jared Hall,

Frances Fuller Victor Frances Auretta Victor ( Fuller; formerly Barritt; pen names: Florence Fane, Dorothy D.) (May 23, 1826 – November 14, 1902) was an American historian and historical novelist. She has been described as "the first Oregon historian to gain regio ...

John Neal John Neal (August 25, 1793 – June 20, 1876) was an American writer, critic, editor, lecturer, and activist. Considered both eccentric and influential, he delivered speeches and published essays, novels, poems, and short stories between the 1 ...

, Mayne Reid, A. J. H. Duganne, Edward S. Ellis, William Reynolds Eyster, William W. Busteed, James L. Bowen, Mary A. Denison, Charles Dunning Clark, among others. Orville James Victor served for nearly thirty years as the series' editor. His wife Metta Victor was the editor from 1859 to 1861 for Erastus Beadle's monthly magazine ''The Home''. For many years, using several pen names, she wrote novels published by Beadle & Adams.

Later life

Erastus became a millionaire and retired to his estate in

, in 1889, where he died on December 18, 1894.

Recognition

At first, dime novels were denounced as "pernicious and evil" by literary purists. At the beginning of the twentieth century, in July 1907, Charles M. Harvey, a critic, changed the prevailing attitudes after publishing in the

Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 ...

a reflective piece titled, ''The Dime Novel in American Life.'' He stated there, In the middle of the same century, Erastus F. Beadle was posthumously recognized as a ''Dime Novel King.'' His papers are archived at the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...

''The Home''

Beadle & Adams

In 1856 Robert Adams joined the Beadle brothers' company in Buffalo. In 1858 the company relocated to New York City. In 1866 Robert Adams died. His younger brothers William and David Adams in 1866 went into business with Irwin Beadle, who in 1868 made his final retirement from publishing. The firm's publishing offices were on William Street in Manhattan. In 1872 the name "Beadle & Adams" was used for the company run by Erastus Beadle with William and David Adams. After Erastus Beadle died in 1894, Williams Adams became the sole owner of Beadle & Adams. William Adams died in 1896. In 1897 the company Beadle & Adams ceased to exist, the executors of Williams Adams's estate sold the assets of Beadle & Adams to M. J. Ivers & Co., and the Ivers name replaced the Beadle name on the ''Dime Library'' and the other publications formerly belonging to Beadle & Adams. In the 1870s, the series "Lives of Great Americans" presented biographies of

Ethan Allen Ethan Allen ( – February 12, 1789) was an American farmer, writer, military officer and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolutionary War, and wa ...

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (, 1734September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyo ...

Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman, fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent and United States Army, U.S. Army officer. He became an American frontier legend in his own lifetime ...

Davy Crockett Colonel (United States), Colonel David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American politician, militia officer and frontiersman. Often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier", he represented Tennesse ...

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 – July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-born naval officer who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Often referred to as the "Father of the American Navy", Jones is regard ...

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (), was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Conti ...

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

Israel Putnam Israel Putnam (January 7, 1718 – May 29, 1790), popularly known as "Old Put", was an American military officer and landowner who fought with distinction at the Battle of Bunker Hill during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). He als ...

Pontiac Pontiac most often refers to: * Pontiac (Odawa leader) ( – 1769), Native American war chief *Pontiac (automobile), a former General Motors brand Pontiac may also refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apo ...

Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; (March 9, 1768October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the Territorial evolution of the United States, expansion of the United States onto Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

, and

Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and a Founding Father of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military expl ...

References

External links

Over 5,000 digitized dime novels published by Beadle & Adams are available
at Nickels & Dimes from

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It was founded as "Northern Illinois State Normal School" in 1895 by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld, initially to provide the state with c ...

Northern Illinois University Libraries' Beadle and Adams project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beadle, Erastus Flavel American publishers (people) 1821 births 1894 deaths People from Oswego County, New York 19th-century American businesspeople