This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Everyman's Library is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
Everyman's Library is a series of reprinted classic literature currently published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (a division of Random House) in the United States, and Weidenfeld and Nicolson in the United Kingdom. The series began publishing in 1906. It was conceived in 1905 by London publisher J. M. Dent, whose goal was to create a 1,000 volume library of world literature that was affordable for, and that appealed to, every kind of person, from students to the working classes to the cultural elite. Dent followed the design principles and to a certain extent the style established by William Morris in his Kelmscott Press. This was later replaced in 1935 by Eric Ravilious's designs.1 Everyman's Library books were pocket-sized hardcovers that sold initially for what was then the remarkably low price of a shilling apiece. The original U.S. distribution rights were granted to New York City publishers, E. P. Dutton.
Contents |
History
The first title published was Boswell's Life of Johnson, published with a quotation on the title page from the works of John Milton: "A good book is the precious life-blood of a master-spirit, embalmed and treasured upon purpose to a life beyond life." In 1910, 500 books had been published under the Everyman trademark, and in 1956 the thousandth volume (Dent's original goal) was published, with Aristotle's Metaphysics selected for the honour. By 1975, Dent's vision had been well surpassed, as Everyman's Library consisted of 994 titles published in 1,239 volumes. After ceasing the publication of new titles in the 1970s, Everyman's Library was relaunched internationally by Knopf in 1991, a move which was praised by many notable authors. The current membership of the Honorary Editorial Committee includes Harold Bloom, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Seamus Heaney, Toni Morrison, Cynthia Ozick, Simon Schama, and John Updike.
The name of the publication series was suggested by poet and editor Ernest Rhys, who was named head editor of the series initially, and asked to find a suitable name to encompass Dent's goal. Rhys tried and discarded many ideas before recalling a quotation from the medieval play Everyman in which the character of Knowledge says to Everyman:
- Everyman, I will go with thee
- and be thy guide,
- In thy most need to go
- by thy side.
This quotation appears on the title page of all Everyman's Library volumes.
Everyman's Encyclopedia
In addition to the fiction series of Everyman's, a multi-volume encyclopedia was added to the range in 1913. Individual volumes could be purchased separately, enabling the set to be budgeted over time. The fifth edition was published in 1967, by which time it consisted of twelve volumes, containing 7763 pages.
The page size was 9 inches by 5 inches, but as the printing was 8 point, so a large amount of information was contained in each volume. As a volume only weighed about 1¼ kg (2¾ lb) it was considered a better size for use by children.
See also
References
- ^ Steinberg, Sigfrid Henry (1955). Five Hundred Years of Printing. Penguin Books.
External links
- Everyman's Library official site
- Index of Everyman's Library books and authors
- A Complete Serial List of Everyman's Library titles (new series, 1991- )
- McVety, Margaret A., Dictionary catalogue of the first 505 volumes of Everyman's Library. London, J.M. Dent; New York, E.P. Dutton. 1911. via Internet Archive. Annotated catalog of first 505 titles.
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 10 November 2008, at 14:52.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Everyman's Library".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.