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

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, Bu ...

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 George Routledge (23 September 1812 – 13 December 1888) was a British book publisher and the founder of the publishing house Routledge. Early life He was born in Brampton, Cumberland on 23 September 1812. Career Routledge gained his early e ...

, in the retail bookselling business which Routledge had founded in 1836 in Ryder's Court,

Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester ...

. 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 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 books for children. He inaugurated a new era between 1870 and 1880 by his issue of the ''

Aunt Louisa Laura Belinda Charlotte Jewry (married name Laura Valentine, pen names Mrs. S. Valentine and Aunt Louisa; 1814–1899), was a Victorian English writer primarily known for her children literature. Her work was often produced in children series in ...

'' books, which were followed by new editions of

Edward Lear Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, who is known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limerick (poetry), limericks, a form he popularised. ...

's ''A Book of Nonsense'', by the children's books (1878–1885) of Randolph Caldecott, and later by the works of

Kate Greenaway Catherine Greenaway (17 March 18466 November 1901) was an English Victorian artist and writer, known for her children's book illustrations. She received her education in graphic design and art between 1858 and 1871 from the Finsbury School of ...

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 K ...

. In the field of fiction Warne issued

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...

'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's novels, including '' Little Lord Fauntleroy'' (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 ''St. Nicholas Magazine'' was a popular monthly American children's magazine, founded by Scribner's in 1873. The first editor was Mary Mapes Dodge, who continued her association with the magazine until her death in 1905. Dodge published work by th ...

'', 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 Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

. He died at his home, 8 Bedford Square, 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