Mitchell Kennerley (August 14, 1878 – February 22, 1950) was an English born American publisher, editor, and gallery owner.

Life

He was born at

Burslem Burslem ( ) is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Tunstall, Fenton, Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent form part of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. It is often referred to as the "mother town" of Stoke on Trent. T ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He was the

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

of the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

branch of John Lane, the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

publisher, from 1896 to 1900, business manager of the ''

Smart Set ''The Smart Set'' was an American literary magazine, founded by Colonel William d'Alton Mann and published from March 1900 to June 1930. Its headquarters was in New York City. During its Jazz Age heyday under the editorship of H. L. Mencken and G ...

'' in 1900-01, founded in 1901 and was editor and proprietor until 1905 of the ''Reader'' magazine. He married Helen Rockwell Morley. In 1906, he started in the book publishing business. He used typesetter Frederic W. Goudy for his books, and advanced him money to complete one of his first successful fonts, which Goudy named

Kennerley Old Style Kennerley Old Style is a serif typeface designed by Frederic Goudy. Kennerley is an " old-style" serif design, loosely influenced by Italian and Dutch printing traditions of the Renaissance and early modern period. It was named for New York publis ...

as a dedication. In 1910, he undertook the publication of '' The Forum'' and of ''The Papyrus'' (the later for author Michael Monahan). He was a dealer in and published the work of

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

and

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 ...

. In 1913, he was arrested, for sending an "obscene" book through the mail. He was president of Anderson Galleries, from 1916 to 1929. In 1937-1938 he co-founded

Parke-Bernet Galleries Parke-Bernet Galleries was an American auction house, active from 1937 to 1964, when Sotheby's purchased it. The company was founded by a group of employees of the American Art Association, including Otto Bernet, Hiram H. Parke, Leslie A. Hyam, L ...

. He died in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. His papers are held at the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

, and

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

References

Bibliography

Bruccoli, Matthew J., ''The Fortunes of Mitchell Kennerley, Bookman''; 1986, Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich

External links

* Shatzkin, Leonard
"Zero Royalty"
book review of ''The Fortunes of Mitchell Kennerley, Bookman'', by Matthew J. Bruccoli; ''The New York Times'', December 7, 1986 * Gross, John

of ''The Fortunes of Mitchell Kennerley, Bookman'', by Matthew J. Bruccoli; ''The New York Times'', October 21, 1986 1878 births 1950 deaths American male writers American publishers (people) English emigrants to the United States Businesspeople from New York City People from Burslem {{1870s-US-business-bio-stub