1937: Harper & Brothers publishes This Is My Story by Eleanor Roosevelt…
Harper & Brothers publishes This Is My Story by Eleanor Roosevelt. More
1937: Zora Neale Hurston’s masterpiece, Their Eyes Were Watching God is published…
J. B. Lippincott publishes Zora Neale Hurston’s masterpiece, Their Eyes Were Watching God. More
1936: Collins is the first major publishing house to create its own font…
Collins is the first major publishing house to create its own font. More
1932: Laura Ingalls Wilder publishes Little House in the Big Woods…
Virginia Kirkus, inaugural department editor of Harper’s Department of Books for Boys and Girls, launches Laura Ingalls Wilder with the publication of Little House in the Big Woods. More
1932: The Canadian branch of William Collins and Sons is founded in Toronto…
The Canadian branch of William Collins and Sons is founded in Toronto by Franklin F. Appleton. More
1931: Pat and Bernard Zondervan start a religious publishing firm…
Pat and Bernard Zondervan start a religious publishing firm out of their mother’s farmhouse. More
1930: Collins establishes the Collins Crime Club…
Collins establishes the Collins Crime Club, which continues for six decades. Members receive quarterly newsletters that list the best new releases as selected by a panel of experts. More
1927: Harper & Brothers signs Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World…
Harper & Brothers signs Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World. More
1926: William Morrow is founded and publishes its first book…
William Morrow is founded and publishes its first book, On to Oregon! by Honoré Morrow. More
1926: The Department of Books for Boys and Girls is established at Harper & Brothers…
The Department of Books for Boys and Girls is established at Harper & Brothers. More
1924: “Queen of Crime” Agatha Christie joins the house of Collins…
“Queen of Crime” Agatha Christie joins the house of Collins, and two years later publishes her seminal Hercule Poirot novel, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. More
1923: The Harper Prize Novel is introduced as a competition to discover unknown authors…
The Harper Prize Novel is introduced as a competition to discover unknown authors, and receives more than 700 submissions in its first year. The first winner, The Able McLaughlins by Margaret Wilson, is later awarded the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel (1924). More
1923: Harper & Brothers moves to 49 East 33rd Street in New York City…
Harper & Brothers sells the buildings and grounds at Franklin Square and moves its publishing enterprise to 49 East 33rd Street in New York City. More
1917: Harper & Brothers releases the first-ever book and phonograph record “bundles”…
Harper & Brothers releases a series of 12 Bubble Books, the first-ever book and phonograph record “bundle,” featuring nursery rhymes like “Jack and Jill” and “Simple Simon.” More
1908: Collins obtains New Zealand Post Office Box #1…
During a time of expansion for Collins in New Zealand, the company obtains New Zealand Post Office Box #1 (which it continues to use to this day) and moves to a new building on Wyndham Street, which at eight stories high, was then Auckland’s tallest building. More
1903: Collins is the first to publish illustrated shilling-priced paperbacks…
Collins is the first to publish a series of illustrated, shilling-priced pocket size classics with the introduction of Collins Illustrated Pocket Classics. Included in this series are a maroon cloth-bound David Copperfield, many other Charles Dickens favorites, Sir Walter Scott’s Kenilworth, George Eliot’s Adam Bede, and Charlotte Brontë’s Shirley. More
1902: Collins publishes the first Gem…
Collins publishes the first Gem, a Pocket Pronouncing Dictionary that has 608 pages and is 2½" x 4½" in size. More
1895: Mark Twain signs an exclusive contract with Harper & Brothers
Mark Twain signs an exclusive contract with Harper & Brothers, which serializes Joan of Arc in its periodicals and publishes it as a book one year later. More
1891: Harper & Brothers purchases rights to Conan Doyle’s Adventures of Sherlock Holmes…
Enabled by the 1891 International Copyright Treaty, Harper & Brothers purchases the rights to Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. More
1888: Collins opens its first branch in Auckland, New Zealand
Collins opens its first branch in Auckland, New Zealand. More
1886: David Angus and George Robertson form a bookselling partnership in Sydney
David Angus and George Robertson form a bookselling partnership in Sydney, going on to publish Australian authors like Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson to much acclaim and success. More
1877: Thomas Nelson introduces the Royal Readers and Royal School series
Thomas Nelson introduces the Royal Readers and Royal School series in response to the enactment of compulsory schooling laws and increased demand for instructional books. More
1871: Harper’s Weekly serializes Middlemarch by Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot)
Harper’s Weekly serializes Middlemarch by Mary Ann Evans, who worked under the male pseudonym George Eliot. More
1863: Harper & Brothers takes a clear stand in favor of abolition
Harper & Brothers takes a clear stand in favor of abolition with the publication of Fanny Kemble’s Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838–1839. More
1862: Thomas Nast documents the Civil War and politics in Harper’s Weekly
Thomas Nast begins documenting the Civil War and politics through caricature in Harper’s Weekly. More
1862: Collins becomes the publisher for the Scottish School Book Association and Irish National Schools
Collins becomes the publisher for the Scottish School Book Association and Irish National Schools, by 1875 buying out the Scottish School Book Association and supplying books directly to schools. More
1860: Harper & Brothers enters into the crime fiction genre
Harper & Brothers pay Wilkie Collins £750 for The Woman in White, which heralds the firm's entry into the crime fiction genre. More
1856: The first Collins Atlas is published
The first Collins Atlas is published. More
1854: Thomas Nelson becomes the first British publishing house with a branch in the U.S.
Thomas Nelson becomes the first British publishing house to have a branch in the United States when it opens an office at 131 Nassau Street in New York City. More
1853: William Collins introduces new steam presses
William Collins introduces new steam presses, allowing Collins and Sons to publish Shakespeare and The Pilgrim’s Progress in affordable editions available to the masses. More
1853: The Harper & Brothers New York City office suffers a destructive fire
On December 10, the Harper & Brothers New York City office suffers a destructive fire, leaving the establishment in ruins. Almost immediately, the company decides to rebuild. More
1850: Thomas Nelson Jr. perfects one of the greatest advances in printing since Gutenberg
Thomas Nelson Jr. perfects the rotary press, one of the greatest technological advances in printing since Johannes Gutenberg’s development of movable type in the fifteenth century. More
1850: Harper’s New Monthly Magazine launches
Harper’s New Monthly Magazine launches in June, serializing Charles Dickens’s Bleak House, as well as then unknown authors Herman Melville and Mark Twain. More
1848: Harper & Brothers publishes the first American editions of the Brontë’s works
Harper & Brothers publishes the first American editions of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, and Anne Brontë's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. More
1839: Collins receives a license to publish the King James Version of the Bible
Collins receives a license to publish the King James Version of the Bible. More
1837: Harper & Brothers debuts a first in packaging and distribution
Harper & Brothers debuts its New England School Library, a first in packaging and distribution. More
1836: Harper & Brothers begins publishing books for children
Harper & Brothers begins publishing books for children with the Fairy Book Collection. More
1833: J. & J. Harper is renamed Harper & Brothers
J. & J. Harper is renamed Harper & Brothers to reflect the addition of brothers Fletcher and Joseph Wesley Harper to the firm. More
1830: John Inman is hired by the Harper brothers as their first “reader”
John Inman is hired by the Harper brothers as their first official “reader.” More
1830: J. & J. Harper is the first publisher to adopt stereotyping
J. & J. Harper is the first publisher to adopt the process of stereotyping, using papier-mâché molds to forge reusable metal plates of entire pages. More
1824: The first Collins dictionary is printed
The first Collins dictionary is printed. More
1819: Chalmers & Collins Bookshop and Printing Works opens and prints its first book
Chalmers & Collins Bookshop and Printing Works opens and prints its first book… More
1818: Thomas Nelson expands his secondhand bookstore into a publishing business
Thomas Nelson expands his secondhand bookstore into a publishing business… More
1817: J. & J. Harper publishes its first book
J. & J. Harper publishes its first book... More
1817: James and John Harper open a printing shop in New York City
Brothers James and John Harper open the modest printing establishment of J. & J. Harper, Printers, in New York City. More