Title Page of First Edition of The Bookman (New York) (Feb

''The Bookman'' was a literary journal established in 1895 by

Dodd, Mead and Company Dodd, Mead and Company was one of the pioneer publishing houses of the United States, based in New York City. Under several names, the firm operated from 1839 until 1990. History Origins In 1839, Moses Woodruff Dodd (1813–1899) and John S. Ta ...

. It drew its name from the phrase, "I am a book-man," by

James Russell Lowell James Russell Lowell (; February 22, 1819 – August 12, 1891) was an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the fireside poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets that ri ...

. The phrase, without the hyphen, regularly appeared on the cover and title page of the bound edition. Frank H. Dodd, head of Dodd, Mead and Company, established ''The Bookman'' in 1895. Its first editor was

Harry Thurston Peck Harry Thurston Peck (November 24, 1856 – March 23, 1914) was an American classical scholar, author, editor, historian and critic. Biography Peck was born in Stamford, Connecticut. He was educated in private schools and at Columbia College, gr ...

, who worked on its staff from 1895 to 1906. With the journal's first issue in February 1895, Peck created America's first

bestseller A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...

list. The lists in ''The Bookman'' ran from 1895 until 1918, and is the only comprehensive source of annual bestsellers in the United States from 1895 to 1912, when ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' began publishing their own lists. In the April 1895 edition, ''The Bookman'''s editors explained the need for an American version of the already established

The Bookman (London) ''The Bookman'' was a monthly magazine published in London from 1891 until 1934 by Hodder & Stoughton. It was a catalogue of the current publications that also contained reviews, advertising and illustrations. William Robertson Nicoll, Arthur ...

: "''The Bookman'' has been a great success since its first appearance in London in 1891, and it is believed that there is ample room and sufficient ''clientele'' among the great multitude of readers, for a literary journal of the same character in America. The American Edition will retain all of the popular features of the English ''Bookman'', but it will be freshly edited and contain additional material of immediate importance to readers in the United States." In 1918, the journal was bought by the

George H. Doran Company George H. Doran Company (1908–1927) was an American Publishing, book publishing company established by George Henry Doran. He organized the company in Toronto and moved it to New York City on February 22, 1908. The firm prospered, becoming one ...

and then sold in April 1927 to Burton Rascoe and

Seward B. Collins Seward Bishop Collins (April 22, 1899 – December 8, 1952) was an American New York socialite and publisher. By the end of the 1920s, he was a self-described " fascist". Biography Collins was born in Syracuse, New York to Irish Catholic par ...

. After Rascoe's departure in April 1928, Collins continued to edit and publish the magazine until it ceased publication in 1933. It was edited by

Arthur Bartlett Maurice Arthur Bartlett Maurice (1873–1946) was an American editor, born in Rahway, New Jersey, and educated at Richmond College ( VA), and at Princeton. He served as an editor of the Woodbridge (NJ) ''Register'' in 1895, as city editor of the Elizabe ...

(1873–1946) from 1899 to 1916; by G.G. Wyant from 1916 to 1918; and by John C. Farrar during the years it was owned by George H. Doran. Only under the brief editorship of Burton Rascoe from 1927 to 1928 did it abandon its conservative standards and political stance, publishing, for example,

Upton Sinclair Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American writer, muckraker, political activist and the 1934 Democratic Party nominee for governor of California who wrote nearly 100 books and other works in seve ...

's novel ''

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

''. Its last editor was Seward Collins, under whose editorship ''The Bookman'' carried articles conforming to his conservative views, influenced by

Irving Babbitt Irving Babbitt (August 2, 1865 – July 15, 1933) was an American academic and literary critic, noted for his founding role in a movement that became known as the New Humanism, a significant influence on literary discussion and conservative tho ...

, and promoted

humanism Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

and

distributism Distributism is an economic theory asserting that the world's productive assets should be widely owned rather than concentrated. Developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, distributism was based upon Catholic social teaching prin ...

. Collins himself was moving towards a

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

and

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

during his years as editor. When ''The Bookman'' ceased publication in 1933, Collins launched '' The American Review''.

Notes

External links

*
Conrad First: The Joseph Conrad Periodical Archive: ''The Bookman''

''The Bookman''
via HathiTrust (fulltext) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bookman, The Defunct literary magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1895 Magazines disestablished in 1933 Monthly magazines published in the United States Magazines published in New York City

See also

Notes

External links