James Ripley Osgood (1836–1892) was an American publisher in Boston. He was involved with the publishing company that became

Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "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 voc ...

Life and work

James Ripley Osgood was born in

Fryeburg, Maine Fryeburg is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,369 at the 2020 census. Fryeburg is home to Fryeburg Academy, a semi-private preparatory school, and the International Musical Arts Institute. The town is also s ...

, on February 22, 1836. A reputed child prodigy, he knew

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

at the age of three and entered college at 12 years of age. He studied at

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, graduating

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

in 1854. While there, he was a member of the Peucinian Society among others. He entered the publishing trade as a clerk in the Boston firm

Ticknor and Fields Ticknor and Fields was an American publishing company based in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded as a bookstore in 1832, the business would publish many 19th century American authors including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry James, ...

and, by 1864, became a partner. It was reorganized in 1868 as Fields, Osgood, and Company. In 1869, the firm published abolitionist writer

Harriet Beecher-Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...

's comedy-drama novel, '' Oldtown Folks''. The firm inherited ''

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

'', as did James R. Osgood and Company, the firm created by Osgood and two remaining partners after Fields retired on New Year's Day 1871. In an 1877 advertisement, James R. Osgood and Company are listed as the publishers of the weekly ''The American Architect and Building News'', with the location listed as Winthrop Square (220 Devonshire Street). MyStudyWindow

Successful book publications by Osgood & Co. included

Bret Harte Bret Harte (; born Francis Brett Hart; August 25, 1836 – May 5, 1902) was an American short story writer and poet best remembered for short fiction featuring miners, gamblers, and other romantic figures of the California Gold Rush. In a caree ...

's ''The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Stories'', followed by a volume of Harte's poems and another of "condensed novels". Osgood advanced Bret Harte $10,000 for future work, but Harte never wrote another story. In 1875, Osgood published Blanche Willis Howard's ''One Summer'', which became a best-selling novel. In 1872 and 1877, Osgood & Co. brought out

Henry Wilson Henry Wilson (born Jeremiah Jones Colbath; February 16, 1812 – November 22, 1875) was an American politician who was the 18th vice president of the United States from 1873 until his death in 1875 and a senator from Massachusetts from 1855 to ...

's three-volume account of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, ''The History of the Rise and Fall of the Slave Power in America''. Also in 1877 the firm sold the

North American Review The ''North American Review'' (NAR) was the first literary magazine in the United States. It was founded in Boston in 1815 by journalist Nathan Hale and others. It was published continuously until 1940, after which it was inactive until revived a ...

and published an edition of Edward FitzGerald's ''

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam ''Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám'' is the title that Edward FitzGerald gave to his 1859 translation from Persian to English of a selection of quatrains (') attributed to Omar Khayyam (1048–1131), dubbed "the Astronomer-Poet of Persia". Altho ...

''. In 1878 the firm dissolved, and Osgood joined forces with

Henry Oscar Houghton Henry Oscar Houghton (; April 30, 1823 – August 25, 1895) was an American publisher, co-founder of Houghton Mifflin, and a mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Biography Houghton was born into a poor family in Sutton, Vermont. At age thirteen, ...

to form the short-lived Houghton, Osgood & Company. The firm's most successful book was

William Dean Howells William Dean Howells (; March 1, 1837 – May 11, 1920) was an American realist novelist, literary critic, and playwright, nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters". He was particularly known for his tenure as editor of ''The Atlantic Monthly'', ...

' ''The Lady of the Aroostook''. In 1880 this firm became the New York branch of

Houghton, Mifflin and Company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (; HMH) is an American publisher of textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults. The company is based in the Boston Financ ...

. Osgood remained in Boston, where he founded a second publisher named James R. Osgood and Company. The second Osgood company published an edition of

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among t ...

's ''

Leaves of Grass ''Leaves of Grass'' is a poetry collection by American poet Walt Whitman. Though it was first published in 1855, Whitman spent most of his professional life writing and rewriting ''Leaves of Grass'', revising it multiple times until his death. T ...

'' in 1881 that was attacked by the Boston district attorney

Oliver Stevens Oliver Stevens (1825–1905) was an American attorney and politician who served as District Attorney of Suffolk County, Massachusetts from 1875 to 1905 and as president of the Boston Common Council in 1856 and 1857. Early life Stevens was bo ...

as "obscene literature". Osgood gave in to criticism and refused to bring out another edition, forcing Whitman to find another publisher. By this time Osgood had befriended Samuel L. Clemens, whose pen name was "

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

". In 1882 the company published Twain's ''

The Prince and the Pauper ''The Prince and the Pauper'' is a novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada, before its 1882 publication in the United States. The novel represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. Set in 1547, ...

'' and '' The Stolen White Elephant''. That same year, Osgood accompanied Clemens on a riverboat trip collecting material for '' Life on the Mississippi'', which was published by Osgood in 1883. Osgood's firm was reportedly one of the most successful in Boston. However, in 1885 the company went bankrupt. Osgood's young partners, Thomas and Benjamin Ticknor, found a third partner and started a new firm. Osgood went to work for ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...

''. In 1891 Osgood went into business again, with the magazine's permission, in partnership in London with Clarence McIlvaine as James R. Osgood, McIlvaine and Company. The firm had its greatest success with

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...

's '' Tess of the D'Urbervilles''; Osgood saw its initial three volume publication in 1891, but died in London May 18, 1892, before its publication as a single volume later that year. He is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery, Kensington, England.

In fiction

A fictionalized Osgood played a key role in

Matthew Pearl Matthew Pearl (born October 2, 1975) is an American novelist and educator. His novels include ''The Dante Club'', '' The Poe Shadow'', '' The Last Dickens'', '' The Technologists'', and '' The Last Bookaneer''. Biography Pearl was born in New Yor ...

's 2009 historical thriller '' The Last Dickens''.Jones, Radhika. "An Old Curiosity." ''New York Times''. May 31, 2009.
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References

External links

* Hyde Park Book Store

* ttp://sdrc.lib.uiowa.edu/lucile/publishers/fields/fields.htm "Fields, Osgood & Co."at The ''Lucile'' Project, University of Iowa libraries – and, in turn, two "James R. Osgood & Co." * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Osgood, James R. American publishers (people) Businesspeople from Boston 1836 births 1892 deaths Bowdoin College alumni 19th-century American businesspeople