This article is about the American book publisher who lived from 1814 to 1872. For his grandson, the American publisher, author and explorer who lived from 1887 to 1950 and was married to
Amelia EarhartAmelia Mary Earhart ; was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
, see
George P. PutnamThis article is about the American publisher, author and explorer who lived from 1887 to 1950 and was married to Amelia Earhart. For his grandfather, the American book publisher who lived from 1814 to 1872, see George Palmer Putnam....
.
George Palmer Putnam (February 7, 1814 – December 20, 1872) was an important
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
book publisher.
Putnam was born in Brunswick, Maine. On moving to New York City, Putnam was given his first job by
Jonathan LeavittJonathan Leavitt was a bookbinder who later co-founded the New York City publishing firm of Leavitt & Trow, one of the nation's first publishing houses. Leavitt was also co-founder of another early New York publishing house with his brother-in-law Daniel Appleton...
, who subsequently published Putnam's first book.
This article is about the American book publisher who lived from 1814 to 1872. For his grandson, the American publisher, author and explorer who lived from 1887 to 1950 and was married to
Amelia EarhartAmelia Mary Earhart ; was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
, see
George P. PutnamThis article is about the American publisher, author and explorer who lived from 1887 to 1950 and was married to Amelia Earhart. For his grandfather, the American book publisher who lived from 1814 to 1872, see George Palmer Putnam....
.
George Palmer Putnam (February 7, 1814 – December 20, 1872) was an important
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
book publisher.
Biography
Putnam was born in Brunswick, Maine. On moving to New York City, Putnam was given his first job by
Jonathan LeavittJonathan Leavitt was a bookbinder who later co-founded the New York City publishing firm of Leavitt & Trow, one of the nation's first publishing houses. Leavitt was also co-founder of another early New York publishing house with his brother-in-law Daniel Appleton...
, who subsequently published Putnam's first book. In 1838, George Palmer Putnam and
John WileyJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc., also referred to as Wiley, is a global publishing company that specializes in academic publishing and markets its products to professionals and consumers, students and instructors in higher education, and researchers and practitioners in scientific, technical, medical, and...
established the publishing house of "Wiley & Putnam" in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
. In 1841, Putnam went to
London, UK[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
where he set up a branch office, the first American to ever do so. In 1848 he returned to New York where he dissolved the partnership with John Wiley and established "G. Putnam Broadway," publishing a variety of works including quality illustrated books. In 1852, with the assistance of
George William CurtisGeorge William Curtis was an American writer and public speaker, born in Providence, Rhode Island, of old New England stock.-Biography:...
and other partners, he founded "Putnam's Magazine." His company was the official publisher to the 1853 New York World's Fair.
George Putnam published the books of many classic American authors including his close friend
Washington IrvingWashington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...
,
William Cullen BryantWilliam Cullen Bryant was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post.-Youth and education:...
,
James Fenimore CooperJames Fenimore Cooper was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. He is best remembered as a novelist who wrote numerous sea-stories and the historical novels known as the Leatherstocking Tales, featuring frontiersman Natty Bumppo...
, and
Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the...
. He served as secretary for the Publishers' association for many years and was an advocate of the creation of
International Copyright LawCopyright is a form of intellectual property that gives the author of an original work exclusive right for a certain time period in relation to that work, including its publication, distribution and adaptation, after which time the work is said to enter the public domain...
. During the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
, he participated in the
Loyal Publication SocietyThe Loyal Publication Society was founded in 1863, during a time when the Union Army had suffered many reverses in the Civil War. The purpose of the society was to bolster public support for the Union effort, by disseminating pro-Union news articles and editorials to newspapers around the...
of New York, and functioned as the United States government's Commissioner of the
Internal Revenue ServiceThe Internal Revenue Service is the United States federal government agency that collects taxes and enforces the internal revenue laws. It is an agency within the U.S. Department of the Treasury and is responsible for interpretation and application of Federal tax law. The official U.S...
in New York City.
An important member of the New York artistic community, Putnam was the leading publisher of art books in his time and became one of the founders of the
Metropolitan Museum of ArtThe Metropolitan Museum of Art, known colloquially as The Met, is an art museum located on the eastern edge of Central Park, along what is known as Museum Mile in New York City, USA. It has a permanent collection containing more than two million works of art, divided into nineteen curatorial...
and its first Superintendent. He is also believed to have been the first publisher to offer "
royaltiesRoyalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property right. Royalties are typically a percentage of gross or net sales derived from use of an asset or a fixed price per unit sold of an item...
" to authors like
Elizabeth Barrett BrowningElizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the most prominent poets of the Victorian era. Her poetry was widely popular in both England and the United States during her lifetime...
and
Thomas CarlyleThomas Carlyle was a Scottish satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher during the Victorian era.He called economics "the dismal science", wrote articles for the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, and became a controversial social commentator.
Coming from a strict Calvinist family,...
.
George Putnam married Victorine Haven. Their daughter,
Mary Corinna PutnamMary Corinna Putnam was an American physician, writer, and suffragist who was the first woman to become a member of the Faculté de Médecine de Paris....
(1842-1906) was the first woman to become a member of the Academy of Medicine and one of their sons,
Herbert PutnamHerbert Putnam an American lawyer, publisher and librarian. He was the eighth Librarian of the United States Congress from 1899 to 1939.-Biography:...
(1861-1955), became a noted librarian who served as the United States Librarian of Congress.
On Putnam's death in 1872 his sons
GeorgeGeorge Haven Putnam, A.M., Litt.D. was an American soldier, publisher, and author. He was the father of medieval historian Bertha Haven Putnam....
,
JohnJohn Bishop Putnam was treasurer and a director of the venerable book publishing firm founded by his father, G.P. Putnam & Sons. He was born in Staten Island, New York on July 17, 1849 to George Palmer and Mrs. Victorine Putnam, a year after his father founded the firm. He was educated at Clark...
and Irving inherited the business and the firm's name was changed to
G. P. Putnam's SonsG. P. Putnam's Sons was a major United States book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since its founding in 1838, the company has had several names, including Wiley & Putnam and, since 1996, Putnam Penguin, Inc.-History:...
. George Putnam published his father's memoirs in 1912 and in 2000, his life's story was told again under the title "George Palmer Putnam - Representative American Publisher" by Ezra Greenspan, Associate Professor of English at the
University of South CarolinaThe University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational, research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States...
.
George Palmer Putnam's grandson and namesake,
George P. PutnamThis article is about the American publisher, author and explorer who lived from 1887 to 1950 and was married to Amelia Earhart. For his grandfather, the American book publisher who lived from 1814 to 1872, see George Palmer Putnam....
(1887-1950), was part of the family business but was also an author and explorer who was married to the famous aviatrix,
Amelia EarhartAmelia Mary Earhart ; was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
.