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Harper (publisher)

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Harper Books
Logoof Harper, with quote fromPlato's Republic[a]
Parent companyHarperCollins
FoundedMarch 6, 1817;207 years ago(1817-03-06)(as J. & J. Harper)
FounderJames Harper
John Harper
Headquarters locationNew York City,U.S.
Owner(s)News Corp

Harperis an American publishing house, the flagshipimprintof global publisher,HarperCollins,based inNew York City.Founded in New York in 1817 byJames Harperand his brother John, the company operated as J. & J. Harper until 1833, when it changed its name to Harper & Brothers, reflecting the inclusion of Joseph andFletcher Harper.Harper began publishingHarper's Magazine,Harper's Weekly,and other periodicals beginning in the 1850s. From 1962 to 1990, the company was known as Harper & Row after its merger with Row, Peterson & Company. Harper & Row was purchased in 1987 byNews Corporationand combined withWilliam Collins, Sons,its United Kingdom counterpart, in 1990 to formHarperCollins,although the Harper name has been used in its place since 2007.

History

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A group portrait of the four Harper brothers byMathew Brady,c. 1860.Left to right:Fletcher,James,John, and Joseph

J. & J. Harper (1817–1833)

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James Harperand his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishing business, J. & J. Harper, in New York City in 1817. Their two brothers, Joseph Wesley andFletcher,joined them in the mid-1820s.

Harper & Brothers (1833–1962)

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Further information:Category: Harper & Brothers books

The company changed its name to "Harper & Brothers" in 1833. The headquarters of the publishing house was located at 331 Pearl Street, facingFranklin SquareinLower Manhattannear the present-day Manhattan approach to theBrooklyn Bridge.

Harper & Brothers began publishingHarper's New Monthly MagazineinNew York City,in 1850. The brothers also publishedHarper's Weekly(starting in New York City in June 1857),Harper's Bazar(starting in New York City on November 2, 1867), andHarper's Young People(starting in New York City in 1879).

George B. M. Harvey became president of Harper's on November 16, 1899.[1]

Harper's New Monthly Magazineultimately becameHarper's Magazine,now published by the Harper's Magazine Foundation.Harper's Weeklywas absorbed byThe Independent(New York; later Boston) in 1916, which merged withThe Outlookin 1928.Harper's Bazarwas sold toWilliam Randolph Hearstin 1913, becameHarper's Bazaar,and is now simplyBazaar,published by theHearst Corporation.

In 1924,Cass Canfieldjoined Harper & Brothers and held various executive positions until he died in 1986.[2]In 1925, Eugene F. Saxton joined the company as an editor, and he was responsible for publishing many well-known authors, includingEdna St. Vincent MillayandThornton Wilder.[3]In 1935,Edward Aswellmoved to Harper & Brothers as an assistant editor of general books and eventually became editor-in-chief. Aswell persuadedThomas Wolfeto leaveScribner's,and, after Wolfe's death, edited the posthumous novels,The Web and the Rock,You Can't Go Home Again,andThe Hills Beyond.[4]

Harper & Row (1962–1990)

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Further information:Category: Harper & Row books
Harper's Illuminated Bible,published in 1846

In 1962, Harper & Brothers merged with Row, Peterson & Company to become Harper & Row. Harper's religion publishing moved toSan Franciscoand became Harper San Francisco, which is nowHarperOne,in 1977. Harper & Row acquiredThomas Y. Crowell Co.andJ. B. Lippincott & Co.in the 1970s; Crowell and the trade operations of Lippincott were merged into Harper & Row in 1980.[5]In 1988, Harper & Row purchased the religious publisherZondervan,including subsidiaryMarshall Pickering.[6]

HarperCollins (1990–present)

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Main article:HarperCollins

Rupert Murdoch'sNews Corporation,nowNews Corp,acquired Harper & Row in 1987, andWilliam Collins, Sonsin 1990. The names of these two national publishing houses, Harper & Row in the United States and Collins in the United Kingdom, were combined along with the Harper's torch icon and Collins' fountain icon to createHarperCollins.[7]The company has since expanded its international reach with further acquisitions of formerly independent publishers. The Harper imprint began being used in place of HarperCollins in 2007.

Paperbacks

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After the purchase of Harper & Row byNews Corporation,HarperCollins launched a new mass-market paperback line to complement its existing trade paperbackPerennialimprint. It was known as Harper Paperbacks from 1990 to 2000, HarperTorch from 2000 to 2006, and Harper from 2007 to the present.

Authors and illustrators (selected)

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^Ancient Greek:ΛΑΜΠΑΔΙΑ ἜΧΟΝΤΕΣ ΔΙΑΔΏΣΟΥΣΙΝ ἈΛΛΉΛΟΙΣ(LAMPADIA ECHONTES DIADOSOUSIN ALLELOIS;roughly, "Bearing torches, they will pass them to another" )

References

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  1. ^"HARPER & BROS. REORGANIZE.; G.B.M. Harvey, Editor and Proprietor of The North American Review, Elected President of the Firm".The New York Times.November 17, 1899.Archivedfrom the original on August 13, 2023.RetrievedAugust 26,2016.
  2. ^"CASS CANFIELD, A TITAN OF PUBLISHING, IS DEAD AT 88".The New York Times.March 28, 1986.Archivedfrom the original on May 28, 2023.RetrievedAugust 26,2016.
  3. ^"The New York Times: Sunday June 27, 1943".The New York Times.RetrievedAugust 26,2016.
  4. ^"The New York Times: Thursday November 6, 1958".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on August 16, 2023.RetrievedAugust 26,2016.
  5. ^Mitgang, Herbert (March 27, 1980)."Harper Absorbs Lippincott & Crowell".Select.nytimes.Archivedfrom the original on May 28, 2023.RetrievedApril 28,2013.
  6. ^McDowell, Edwin (July 14, 1988)."Harper & Row to Acquire Religious Books Publisher".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Archivedfrom the original on May 28, 2023.RetrievedJanuary 20,2018.
  7. ^Cohen, Roger (June 11, 1990)."Birth of a Global Book Giant".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Archivedfrom the original on July 9, 2018.RetrievedNovember 26,2019.
  8. ^"Harper Lee, Author of 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' Is to Publish a Second Novel".The New York Times.February 4, 2015.Archivedfrom the original on July 5, 2023.RetrievedAugust 26,2016.
  9. ^"Men Who Make Pictures".The Weekly Wisconsin.August 26, 1885. p. 6.Archivedfrom the original on April 14, 2019.RetrievedNovember 24,2017– via Newspapers.Howard Pyle works almost exclusively for the Harpers.
  10. ^Charles Dudley Warnerat theEncyclopædia Britannica

Further reading

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Primary sources

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  • Harper & Brothers' List of Publications,New York: Harper & Brothers, 1859,OL7104166M
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Wikimedia Commons has media related toHarper & Brothers.
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