Tag: Harper & Brothers

Ben-Hur

An 1880 first edition of Ben-Hur.
Lew Wallace, a Union general in the Civil War, wrote the biblical novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ in 1880. More

From Printers to Publishers

A 1923 New York Times advertisement placed by Harper & Brothers regarding its move from Franklin Square to 49 East 33rd Street in New York City.
James and John Harper began their business in 1817 primarily as printers, although they soon began to publish and sell original works. More

Brave New World

Brave New World
Huxley’s best-known novel; a prophetic classic of speculative fiction that continues to resonate. More

Inventing the Western

Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey (1912).
Zane Grey and A. B. Guthrie Jr. were considered two of the foremost writers on the American West. More

Education and Publishing

Title pages of several books featured in Harper’s Family Library in the 1830s, including The History of the Bible and The Lives of Celebrated Travelers.
Beginning in 1830, the Harper brothers believed that the increasingly literate populace might clamor for turnkey collections. More

The Harper Fire of 1853

An illustration depicting the Harper fire of 1853.
The Harper offices in New York City were claimed by fire in 1853, when a plumber lit a lamp with a roll of paper and then attempted to extinguish the burning roll in a tub of water. More

From Clerk to Chairman of the Board

An 1885 letter from Henry Hoyns to the Harper brothers requesting a raise after being promoted to the stock desk.
One summer day in 1884, Horatio Harper, grandson of founder John Harper, began talking with a bright young boy during his regular steamboat commute from Long Island to Manhattan. More

Garth Williams, Illustrator

Marketing flyer promoting the 1946 publication of Little Fur Family, written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Garth Williams.
Garth Williams was a little-known but talented young illustrator when he was commissioned by Ursula Nordstrom, head of Harper’s Department of Books for Boys and Girls, to illustrate the classic Stuart Little by E. B. White. More

Middlemarch

Middlemarch
Ranked number one in a 2015 BBC poll of the 100 greatest British novels. More

Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre
Brontë’s masterpiece of Gothic romance; a milestone title in the history of British feminist literature. More

The Look of Stuart Little

Stuart Little by E. B. White (1945).
In early 1945, Ursula Nordstrom, head of Harper’s Department of Books for Boys and Girls was awaiting completion of E. B. White’s manuscript for a children’s story about a talking mouse, titled Stuart Little. More

Mark Twain

A 1900 letter from Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) to Harper & Brothers confirming their publishing agreement.
In 1866, with mostly newspaper articles and other short works to his name, Mark Twain accepted an assignment from the Sacramento Union to produce a weekly column from Hawaii. More

Nostromo

Nostromo
A sweeping masterpiece considered by many to be Conrad’s greatest novel. More

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

An Armed Services Edition of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (1943).
Betty Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1943), a story about growing up poor in turn-of-the-century Brooklyn, was originally an entry for a Harper & Brothers memoir contest. More