The Bookman (New York City)

See also The Bookman (London)

James Montgomery Flagg poster for The Bookman (April 1896)

The Bookman was a literary journal established in 1895 by Dodd, Mead and Company. It drew its name from the phrase, "I am a Bookman," by James Russell Lowell; the phrase regularly appeared on the cover and title page of the bound edition. It was purchased in 1918 by the George H. Doran Company. In 1927 it was sold to Burton Rascoe and Seward B. Collins. After Rascoe's departure in 1928, Seward continued to edit and publish the magazine until it ceased publication in 1933.

History

Frank H. Dodd, head of Dodd, Mead and Company, established The Bookman in 1895. Its first editor was Harry Thurston Peck, who worked on its staff from 1895 to 1906. In 1895, he created the world's first bestseller list for its pages.

It was edited by Arthur Bartlett Maurice (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 1927-28 did it abandon its conservative standards and political stance, publishing, for example, Upton Sinclair's novel Boston.

Its last editor was Seward Collins. Under the Collins editorship The Bookman carried articles conforming to his conservative views, influenced by Irving Babbitt, and promoted humanism and distributism. Collins himself was moving towards a far-right and fascist during his years as editor.

When The Bookman ceased publication in 1933, Collins launched The American Review.

External links

• The Bookman complete 1895-1933 archives
• The Bookman at Internet Archive (scanned books original editions color illustrated)
• Conrad First: The Joseph Conrad Periodical Archive: The Bookman