Charles Scribner's Sons:

An Illustrated Chronology


This chronology provides a selected list of important dates and events in the history of the firm, noting partnerships, organizational changes, and changes in location. In addition, significant publications, and publishing series, are identified for each year--selected for the importance of the authors, from a literary standpoint and/or from their commercial benefit to the firm, for the subject, or for the publishing achievement itself, such as the number of volumes involved and the quantity of illustrations. For some titles, particularly early ones, only the copyright dates are available in the firm's records.
 
Date Event
1846 January 1 Charles Scribner (CS I, photograph below) and Isaac D. Baker, a New York City dry goods merchant, open their publishing business, Baker & Scribner, in meeting rooms leased from the Brick Church Chapel, at the corner of Nassau Street and Park Row in New York City. Address: 145 Nassau Street (site of the old Times building). Annual rent: $600.
 
January 7 CS I and Baker sign contract with bookseller John S. Taylor to publish his books (i.e., to use his stereotype plates) at a set price per copy.
February 3 copyright date of the firm's first copyrighted book, The Puritans and Their Principles by Edwin Hall (copyrighted by the author on January 13 and transferred to Baker & Scribner on February 3)
February 16 copyright date of C. Edwards Lester's The Artists of America: A Series of Biographical Sketches of American Artists, the firm's second book
March 14 copyright date of Charles Burdett's first Scribner book, Lilla Hart: A Tale of New York, the firm's third book and first work of fiction
April 18 publication date of the first volume (of 2) of Napoleon and His Marshals by J. T. Headley, his first Scribner book and the firm's first bestseller, which reached 50 editions by 1861 (vol. 2 was published on June 1)
1847 May 28 copyright date of T. S. Arthur's first Scribner book, Keeping Up Appearances; or, A Tale for the Rich and Poor
June 1 Andrew C. Armstrong, who had been associated with James A. Sparks, publisher of The Churchman, joins the firm.
June 19 copyright date of J. T. Headley's Washington and His Generals (2 vols.)
1848 June 13 CS I marries Emma Elizabeth Blair, daughter of John Insley Blair (photograph), who becomes one of the country's leading railroad capitalists.
September 27 copyright date of Charles Burdett's The Gambler; or, A Policeman's Story, possibly the first American detective novel
1849 April 6 copyright date of Nathaniel Parker Willis's first Scribner book, Rural Letters and Other Records of Thought at Leisure, Written in the Intervals of More Hurried Literary Labor
May 16 copyright date of Caroline M. Kirkland's first Scribner book, Holidays Abroad; or, Europe from the West (2 vols.)
December 21 copyright date of Donald Grant Mitchell's first Scribner book, Battle Summer: Being Transcripts from Personal Observation in Paris, During the Year 1848, published under the pseudonym of "Ik Marvel"
1850 November 23 death of Isaac D. Baker 
November 25 copyright date of Donald Grant Mitchell's Reveries of a Bachelor: or A Book of the Heart, published under the pseudonym of "Ik Marvel," one of the year's bestsellers
 
 
1851 January 1 In consequence of the death of Baker, CS I assumes full responsibility for the firm; "Baker & Scribner" becomes "Charles Scribner & Co."
November 29 copyright date of Donald Grant Mitchell's Dream Life: A Fable of the Seasons, published under the pseudonym of "Ik Marvel"
1852 April 17 copyright date of Hungary in 1851, With an Experience of the Austrian Police by Charles Loring Brace, the first book by this American philanthropist who helped established the Children's Aid Society (1853)
1853 November 16 copyright date of Philip Schaff's first Scribner book, History of the Apostolic Church, with a General Introduction to Church History
1854 December 5 copyright date of A Cyclopedia of Missions, Containing a Comprehensive View of Missionary Operations Throughout the World, With Geographical Descriptions and Accounts of the Social, Moral, and Religious Condition of the People (approx. 800 pp., with maps) by Congregational clergyman Harvey Newcomb
1855 December 3 publication date of the first volume (of 2) of Evert A. and George L. Duyckinck's national work, Cyclopædia of American Literature (vol. 2 was ready on December 15)
1856 February publication of The Three Gardens: Eden, Gethsemane, and Paradise; or, Man's Ruin, Redemption, and Restoration by Presbyterian clergyman William Adams, a founder of Union Theological Seminary and, later, its president 
March Impending sale of the Brick Church property forces Charles Scribner & Co. to relocate; firm moves to 377-379 Broadway.
1857 February 12 copyright date of Scampavias from Gibel Tarek to Stamboul by the American naval officer and author Henry Augustus Wise, published under his pseudonym of "Harry Gringo"
December 19 CS I takes Charles Welford, son of a London bookseller, as a partner (their respective shares are 2/3 and 1/3) to establish a separate company, Scribner & Welford, for the importing of foreign books. Located in the Scribner bookstore in New York City, the company also established a presence in London, England, when Welford moved there in 1864.
1858 April 24 publication date of Horace Bushnell's first Scribner book, Sermons for the New Life
May Charles Scribner & Co. moves to the Brooks Building at 124 Grand Street (the corner of Broadway and Grand Street).
July 1 copyright date of J. G. Holland's first Scribner book, Titcomb's Letters to Young People, Single and Married, published under the pseudonym of "Timothy Titcomb"
October 1 copyright date of J. G. Holland's Bitter-Sweet: A Poem
1859 January 1st issue of the first Scribner periodical, The American Theological Review
October 15 copyright date of J. G. Holland's Gold-Foil, Hammered from Popular Proverbs, published under the pseudonym of "Timothy Titcomb"
1860 April 12 copyright date of Poems, Lyrical and Idyllic by Edward Clarence Stedman, the first book by this American poet, essayist, and literary critic
1861 publication of Tropical Fibres: Their Production and Economic Extraction by E. G. Squier, American archaeologist and diplomat, considered the leading authority on Central America at the time
1862 publication of S. A. Felter's The Analysis of Written Arithmetic. Book First, Being an Elementary Manual Designed for Public Schools, and Containing Mental, Slate, and Blackboard Exercises, the beginning of his popular textbooks
October 15 copyright date of E. A. Sheldon's A Manual of Elementary Instruction for the Use of Public and Private Schools and Normal Classes, Containing a Graduated Course of Object Lessons for Training the Senses and Developing the Faculties of Children, the beginning of his popular textbooks
1863 February publication of Political Fallacies: An Examination of the False Assumptions, and Refutation of the Sophistical Reasonings, Which Have Brought on This Civil War by George Junkin, first president of Lafayette College
1864 Andrew C. Armstrong becomes a partner of the firm.
Charles Welford moves to London, England, to superintend Scribner & Welford's purchasing of foreign books.
November 25 copyright date of Volume I (The Gospel According to Matthew) of the colossal translating and publishing project, edited by Philip Schaff, of Johann Peter Lange's A Commentary of the Holy Scriptures: Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical--ultimately to reach 25 volumes by 1880 
1865 Arthur J. Peabody, nephew of George Peabody, the philanthropist, joins the firm.
May 1st issue of the Scribner periodical Hours at Home: A Popular Magazine of Religious and Useful Literature, edited by J. M. Sherwood
September publication of Sanborn Tenney's Natural History: A Manual of Zoology for Schools, Colleges, and the General Reader (with over 500 illustrations), the beginning of his popular textbooks
1866 April 4 CS I and Andrew C. Armstrong sign lease for first floor and basement of 654 Broadway, which will be their location for nine years (through 1 May 1875).
June 12 publication date of Arnold Guyot's first Scribner book, Primary; or, Introduction to the Study of Geography (his maps had already been published by Scribners for several years), the beginning of his popular textbooks
1867 April 27 copyright date of Public Debt of the United States: Its Organization, Its Liquidation, Administration of the Treasury, The Financial System by American abolitionist and banker James Sloan Gibbons, author of the famous Civil War song "We Are Coming, Father Abraham"
October 15 1st issue of the Scribner periodical The Book Buyer: A Summary of American & Foreign Literature
August 1 Edward Seymour, a New York Times editor and journalist, joins the firm to assume editorial duties.
1868 July 13 CS I, Andrew C. Armstrong, and Arthur J. Peabody sign lease for second, third, fourth, and fifth stories (i.e., the rest of the building) of 654 Broadway (through 1 May 1875).
September 12 copyright date of J. G. Holland's Kathrina: Her Life and Mine in a Poem
September 20 publication date of Le Roy C. Cooley's first Scribner book, A Text Book of Natural Philosophy: An Accurate, Modern, and Systematic Explanation of the Elementary Principles of the Science, the beginning of his popular textbooks
1869 March J. Blair Scribner, oldest son of CS I, begins work in the publishing firm.
March 6 publication date of the first volumes in the "Illustrated Library of Wonders" series: F. Marion's The Wonders of Optics, translated from the French and edited by Charles W. Quin, and W. de Fonvielle's Thunder and Lightning, translated from the French and edited by T. L. Phipson
April 3 CS I, Andrew C. Armstrong, and Arthur J. Peabody sublet the third story of 654 Broadway for use as a "Velocipede Hall"--for the exhibition, exercise, and sale of velocipedes--for a term of one year. These early bicycles were probably models with iron-tired wooden rims and front wheels larger than the rear.
1870 July 19 CS I, Andrew C. Armstrong, Edward Seymour, Arthur J. Peabody, Josiah Gilbert Holland, and Roswell C. Smith form Scribner & Co. to publish the periodical Scribner's Monthly.
November 1st issue of the Scribner periodical Scribner's Monthly, edited by J. G. Holland
December 8 publication date of Books and Reading; or, What Books Shall I Read? and How Shall I Read Them? by Noah Porter, editor of Webster's American Dictionary, later president of Yale
1871 May 27 publication date of Common Sense in the Household: A Manual of Practical Housewifery, the first Scribner book of "Marion Harland," the pseudonym of Mary Virginia Terhune
August 26 death of Charles Scribner (CS I)
November 13 copyright date of Frank R. Stockton's first Scribner book, Round-About Rambles in Lands of Fact and Fancy
December 2 publication date of the first volume in the "Illustrated Library of Travel" series, Japan in Our Day, compiled and arranged by Bayard Taylor, the series editor
1872 February Arthur J. Peabody sells his interest in Charles Scribner & Co.
February 10 Andrew C. Armstrong, John Blair Scribner, and Edward Seymour form publishing partnership to be known as "Scribner, Armstrong & Co." (the respective shares are 40%, 40%, and 20%).
February 10 Charles Welford, Andrew C. Armstrong, and John Blair Scribner form partnership to be known as "Scribner, Welford & Armstrong" to continue the importation of books for a period of six years from 1 February 1872 (their respective shares are 1/3, 1/3, and 1/3).
February 10 Andrew C. Armstrong and John Blair Scribner sign agreement with Edward Seymour, paying him a salary equal to one-eighth of their share of the profits in Scribner, Welford & Armstrong for services he renders to the company.
September 14 copyright date of Henry M. Stanley's first Scribner book, How I Found Livingstone: Travels, Adventures, and Discoveries in Central Africa, Including Four Months' Residence with Dr. Livingstone, which was sold by subscription (the first copies were ready in November)
October The firm organizes a subscription department.
1873 April 7 Mary Mapes Dodge begins at Scribner & Co. as editor of its new children's magazine, St. Nicholas.
April 10 John Blair Scribner purchases his grandfather's (i.e., John Insley Blair's) interest in Charles Scribner & Co. and Scribner & Welford.
November 1st issue of the Scribner periodical St. Nicholas: Scribner's Illustrated Magazine for Girls and Boys, edited by Mary Mapes Dodge
November 22 publication date of the Scribner edition of Mary Mapes Dodge's Hans Brinker; or, The Silver Skates, her first Scribner book
1874 May 2 publication date of Journey to the Center of the Earth, the first Scribner book by Jules Verne, the French author of adventure stories
May 9 publication date of Personal Reminiscences of Chorley, Planché, and Young, inaugurating the "Bric-a-Brac" series edited by Richard Henry Stoddard
August 26 publication date of The Era of the Protestant Revolution by Frederic Seebohm and The Crusades by G. W. Cox, the first two titles in the "Epochs of History" series, which grew to 29 works by 1889, divided in two groups: "Epochs of Modern History" and "Epochs of Ancient History"
December 1 Andrew C. Armstrong, John Blair Scribner, and Edward Seymour sign lease for first floor and basement of 743 & 745 Broadway (they take possession on 10 Jan. 1875 though lease begins on May 1 and runs through 1 May 1880), which will be their location for 19 years (through 1 May 1894).
 
1875 January 22 publication date of Assyrian Discoveries: An Account of Exploration and Discoveries on the Site of Nineveh, During 1873 and 1874 (with illustrations) by George Smith of the British Museum
June Charles Scribner (CS II) graduates from Princeton and joins his brother John Blair in the firm.
Oct. 16 copyright date of The New Day: A Poem in Songs and Sonnets, the first book by Richard Watson Gilder, assistant editor of Scribner's Monthly
1876 April 27 copyright date of the first volume of A Popular History of the United States by William Cullen Bryant and Sydney Howard Gay
May 17 publication date of The Life, Letters and Table Talk of Benjamin Robert Haydon, inaugurating the "Sans Souci" series edited by Richard Henry Stoddard
November 11 publication date of Noah Brooks's first Scribner book, The Boy Emigrants
1877 April 7 publication date of Frances Hodgson Burnett's first Scribner book, That Lass o'Lowrie's
April 30 death of Edward Seymour
December Frank Nelson Doubleday, at the age of fourteen, is hired before Christmas to work carrying books from the bindery to the packing-room, and leaves twenty years later as business manager of Scribner's Magazine.
1878 Scribners begins publication of the "authorized" American edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (ninth ed.). The concluding, index volume (vol. 25) comes in 1889.
February 21 Andrew C. Armstrong and John Blair Scribner purchase Seymour's interest in Scribner, Armstrong & Co. and Scribner & Co. from his estate.
June 11 Andrew C. Armstrong retires--sells his share of Scribner, Armstrong & Co. to J. Blair Scribner; sells his share of Scribner, Welford & Armstrong to J. Blair Scribner and Charles Welford--to head his own publishing firm, A. C. Armstrong & Son. Firm names change: Scribner, Armstrong & Co. becomes "Charles Scribner's Sons"; Scribner, Welford & Armstrong becomes "Scribner & Welford".
July Charles Welford establishes an office in London, England, to superintend Scribner & Welford's purchasing of foreign books.
July 18 The first title to bear the "Charles Scribner's Sons" imprint is published: Saxe Holm's Stories (Second Series) by Helen Hunt Jackson ("Saxe Holm").
1879 January 20 death of J. Blair Scribner
February 6 publication date of Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen's first Scribner book, Goëthe and Schiller: Their Lives and Works
March Edward L. Burlingame, a journalist and editor, son of a U.S. minister to China, joins the firm as a literary adviser.
April 11 CS II signs a renegotiated lease (less costly) for first floor and basement of building at 743 & 745 Broadway for period from 1 May 1880 through 1 May 1883.
April 25 Charles Welford and CS II form copartnership under the firm name of "Scribner & Welford" to continue the business of importing books for a period of seven years from May 1.
May 17 publication date of George Washington Cable's first Scribner book, Old Creole Days
November 13 publication date of Sidney Lanier's first Scribner book, The Boy's Froissart: Being Sir John Froissart's Chronicles of Adventure, Battle and Custom in England, France, Spain, etc., edited for boys
November 20 publication date of the first two volumes of The Letters of Charles Dickens, edited by his sister-in-law and eldest daughter
1880 March 20 publication date of Brander Matthews's first Scribner book, The Theatres of Paris
1881 April CS II sells his share of Scribner & Co. to Roswell G. Smith et al. As part of the agreement, the name of the corporation and magazine will be changed, dropping the word Scribner or Scribner's, and CS II will not publish a competing periodical for a period of five years. (As a result, Scribner's Monthly becomes The Century Magazine and "Scribner & Co." becomes "Century Company".)
June Arthur Hawley Scribner graduates from Princeton and joins his brother Charles in the family publishing firm.
October 12 death of J. G. Holland
October 22 publication date of the first two volumes (of 13) in the "Campaigns of the Civil War" series: John G. Nicolay's The Outbreak of Rebellion and M. F. Force's From Fort Henry to Corinth
1882 October 4 publication date of The American Boys' Handy Book: What to Do and How to Do It by Dan Beard, the first book by this American naturalist, artist, who helped establish the Boy Scouts of America
October 12 publication of Criteria of Diverse Kinds of Truth as Opposed to Agnosticism, Being a Treatise on Applied Logic by James McCosh, president of Princeton, the first number (of 8) in his "Philosophic Series"
December. 1 CS II signs lease for the whole building at 743 & 745 Broadway for the period from 1 May 1883 through 1 May 1886, allowing him to sublet any unused space. Over the years space is rented to a millinery and straw-goods business, to the Delta Chapter of New York University as a meeting place, to The Magazine of American History, to the publishers Ginn and Company, and to the publishers the Critic Company.
1883 June 1 Charles Scribner's Sons sells its school textbook list (Sheldon's readers, Guyot's geographies, Cooley's physical sciences, Tenney's natural histories, Felter's arithmetics, etc.) to Ivison, Blakeman, Taylor & Co.
March 24 publication date of James Russell Soley's The Blockade and the Cruisers, the first volume (of 3) in the "Navy in the Civil War" series
October 23 publication date of Howard Pyle's first Scribner book, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood of Great Reknown, in Nottinghamshire
1884 April 5 publication date of the first two volumes (of 10) of Stories by American Authors
October 18 publication date of A. B. Frost's first Scribner book, Stuff & Nonsense
November publication of Scribner's Statistical Atlas of the United States, Showing by Graphic Methods Their Present Condition and Their Political, Social and Industrial Development by Fletcher W. Hewes and Henry Gannett, Chief Geographer of the United States Geological Survey
November 25 publication date of Henry van Dyke's first Scribner book, The Reality of Religion
1885 April 16 publication date of Robert Louis Stevenson's first Scribner book, A Child's Garden of Verses
May 18 death of Charles Welford, who is succeeded by his assistant, Lemuel W. Bangs, as head of Scribner & Welford, the importing company of Scribners
October 21 CS II purchases Welford's share of Scribner & Welford from his estate.
1886 January 5 publication date of Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
January 26 CS II and Arthur H. Scribner sign lease for the whole building at 743 & 745 Broadway for the period from 1 May 1886 through 1 May 1889, allowing them to sublet any unused space.
April 13 CS II and Arthur H. Scribner obtain certificate allowing them to continue to use the "Scribner & Welford" name.
May 27 publication date of the first volume (of 4) of Cyclopedia of Painters and Paintings, edited by John Denison Champlin, containing over 2000 illustrations
July 14 publication date of Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped, one of the year's bestsellers
September 20 CS II and Arthur H. Scribner sign lease for the whole building at 743 and 745 Broadway for the period from 1 May 1889 through 1 May 1892, allowing them to sublet any unused space.
October 7 publication date of Frances Hodgson Burnett's Little Lord Fauntleroy, one of the year's bestsellers
December 15 1st annual Scribner's Magazine Dinner held at the residence of CS II at 12 East 38th Street in New York City
1887 January 1st issue of the Scribner periodical Scribner's Magazine, edited by Edward L. Burlingame
May 21 publication date of Thomas Nelson Page's first Scribner book, In Ole Virginia; or, Marse Chan and Other Stories
July Edwin Wilson Morse, music critic and journalist, joins the firm as editor of The Book Buyer. From 1894 to 1904, he works as an editor in the trade department; from 1904 to 1910, he serves as secretary and a director of Charles Scribner's Sons, Inc.
October 26 publication date of Harold Frederic's first Scribner book, Seth's Brother's Wife: A Study of Life in the Greater New York
1888 January W. C. Brownell, a journalist and critic who had worked for the New York World, The Nation, and the Philadelphia Press, joins the firm as a literary adviser and book editor.
February 16 publication date of The Tailor Made Girl, Her Friends, Her Fashions and Her Follies by the American humorist Philip H. Welch
1889 October 22 publicaton date of the first two volumes (of 9) of The History of the United States by Henry Adams, the landmark study by this American historian
1890 March 25 publication date of Expiation, the first Scribner book of "Octave Thanet," the pseudonym of Alice French
June 28 publication date of Henry M. Stanley's In Darkest Africa; or, The Quest, Rescue, and Retreat of Emin, Governor of Equatoria (2 vols.)
September 26 publication date of Eugene Field's first Scribner books, A Little Book of Profitable Tales and A Little Book of Western Verse
1891 January 31 Scribner & Welford is subsumed under the name "Charles Scribner's Sons"; hence, all business is now conducted under the one name.
March 4 As a member of the Joint Committee of the American Copyright League and the American Publishers' Copyright League, CS II has significant role in getting the International Copyright Bill passed this day in Washington, D.C.
April 18 publication date of Richard Harding Davis's first Scribner book, Gallegher, and Other Stories
June 15 The lease for the building at 743 & 745 Broadway is renewed for two years, covering the period from 1 May 1892 through 1 May 1894.
1892 May 7 publication of the first volume (of 7) in the "American History" series, George Park Fisher's The Colonial Era
November 2 publication date of F. Hopkinson Smith's first Scribner book, American Illustrators
December 1st annual Scribner Christmas dinner held at the St. Denis Hotel in New York City
1893 Edward Thomas Lord, New England agent for D. C. Heath & Co., joins firm to start up a new educational department.
April 14 Court decision protects the Scribner edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (ninth ed.) against unauthorized reprints.
October 11 publication date of The White Conquerors: A Tale of Toltec and Aztec, the first Scribner book by Kirk Munroe, a prolific American author of adventure stories for boys
October 21 publication date of the trade edition of Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians (3 vols., with more than 1000 illustrations), edited by John Denison Champlin
1894 May Charles Scribner's Sons moves to 153-157 Fifth Avenue into a building designed by Ernest Flagg, brother-in-law of CS II.
 
October 2 publication date of The Woman's Book, Dealing Practically with the Modern Conditions of Home-Life, Self-Support, Education, Opportunities, and Every-Day Problems (2 vols., with 400 illustrations) by various authors
1895 May 18 publication date of Princeton Stories by Jesse Lynch Williams, the first book by this American playwright, novelist
May 25 publication date of Frank R. Stockton's The Adventures of Captain Horn, the #3 bestseller of 1895
1896 March 7 publication date of Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Lady of Quality, the #2 bestseller of 1896
October 3 publication date of George Santayana's first Scribner book, The Sense of Beauty: Being the Outlines of Aesthetic Theory
October 17 publication date of J. M. Barrie's Sentimental Tommie, the #9 bestseller of 1896 and #8 of 1897
October 17 publication date of the first volume (of 12) in the Thistle Edition of The Novels, Tales and Sketches of J. M. Barrie, which was completed in 1911
November 23 publication date of J. M. Barrie's Margaret Ogilvy, the #7 bestseller of 1897
December 30 At their Fifth Annual Christmas Dinner, the employees and staff of Charles Scribner's Sons celebrate the 50th anniversary of the firm at the St. Denis Hotel in New York City.
 
 
1897 February 2 publication date of the first volume (of 36) in the Outward Bound Edition of The Writings in Prose and Verse of Rudyard Kipling, which was completed in 1937
March 1 Joseph Hawley Chapin, art editor for McClure Publications, joins Scribners as art editor, a position he will hold till 1936.
March 2 Frank Nelson Doubleday leaves Scribners to begin his own business, Doubleday & McClure Company.
March 13 publication date of The Man Who Wins by Robert Herrick, the first book by this American novelist, storywriter
May 22 publication date of Richard Harding Davis's Soldiers of Fortune, the #3 bestseller of 1897
November 10 publication date of the first volume (of 16) in the Homestead Edition of The Poems and Prose Sketches of James Whitcomb Riley, which was completed in 1916
November 13 publication date of Charles Dana Gibson's first Scribner book, London as Seen by Charles Dana Gibson
December 4 publication date of Edith Wharton's first Scribner book, The Decoration of Houses, co-authored with Ogden Codman
1898 February 28 publication date of the first volume (of 5) of A Dictionary of the Bible, Dealing With Its Language, Literature, and Contents, Including the Biblical Theology, edited by James Hastings
October 22 publication date of Ernest Thompson Seton's first Scribner book, Wild Animals I Have Known
November 5 publication of the first two volumes (of 36) in the Complete Edition of The Works of Charles Dickens, which was completed in 1900 
October 29 publication date of Thomas Nelson Page's Red Rock, the #5 bestseller of 1899
December 17 publication date of the first two volumes (of 22) in the International Edition of The Works of Lyof N. Tolstoi, which was completed in 1900
1899 March 11 publication date of Mezzotints in Modern Music by James Huneker, the first book by this American music critic
March 18 publication date of Edith Wharton's The Greater Inclination, her first book of fiction
May 20 publication date of The Rough Riders, the first Scribner book by Theodore Roosevelt, the future U.S. president
1900 May 5 publication date of Unleavened Bread, a novel by the American novelist and poet Robert Grant which became the #3 bestseller of 1900
July 25 The American Publishers' Association forms with CS II as its first president.
November 10 publication date of John Fox, Jr.'s first Scribner book, Crittenden
1901 February 6 publication date of Henry James's first Scribner book, The Sacred Fount
March 12 CS II and Arthur H. Scribner form copartnership (3/4 and 1/4, respectively) to continue the publishing business and determine to carry on all future business under the name and style of "Charles Scribner's Sons."
June 22 publication date of the first three volumes (of 23) in the "Yale Bicentennial" series, "issued in connection with the Bicentennial Anniversary, as a partial indication of the character of the studies in which the University teachers are engaged"
August 17 publication date of the Russian revolutionist Maksim Gorky's Fomá Gordyéef, translated by Isabel F. Hapgood
1902 February 21 publication date of Edith Wharton's The Valley of Decision (2 vols.)
March 31 CS II and Arthur H. Scribner modify their articles of copartnership, changing their respective proportions to 3/5 and 2/5.
July The Scribner Press begins operation on Pearl Street in New York City, primarily for the printing of Scribner's Magazine.
July Maxfield Parrish designs a colophon device for the new Scribner Press. "The Scribner logo, with its three key elements of burning antique (Greco-Roman) lamp, books, and laurel wreath, dates back to the Beaux-Arts architect Standford White's original design for the cover of Scribner's Magazine (January 1887). The symbol of the book hardly needs to be explained; the laurel crown is a symbol of the highest achievement in poetry or literature, or the arts in general, and it is associated with the classical god of Apollo; the lamp is not Aladdin's lamp but rather the lamp of wisdom and knowledge. There is a long tradition in art, going back at least to the time of Petrarch, of a poet being crowned with a wreath of laurel, and such scholars as St. Jerome and St. Thomas Aquinas are traditionally depicted beside such a burning lamp" (Charles Scribner III, unpublished memo dated 2 June 1994). This printer's seal appeared on the copyright page of books printed by the Scribner Press
August 21 publication date of Henry James's The Wings of the Dove (2 vols.)
August 29 publication date of F. Hopkinson Smith's The Fortunes of Oliver Horn, the first book to bear the Scribner Press colophon device
November 1 publication date of Henry van Dyke's The Blue Flower, the #9 bestseller of 1902
1903 May 29 publication date of Thomas Nelson Page's Gordon Keith, the #2 bestseller of 1903
August 30 publication date of the first six volumes (of 30) in the Edinburgh Edition of The Works of Thomas Carlyle, which was completed in 1904
September 12 publication date of John Fox, Jr.'s The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come, the #10 bestseller of 1903 and #7 of 1904
December 15 publication date of the first three volumes (of 32) in the Kensington Edition of The Works of William Makepeace Thackeray, which was completed in 1904
1904 January 25 CS II, Arthur H. Scribner, Edward L. Burlingame, Henry L. Smith, and Edwin W. Morse form a corporation under N.J. law called "Charles Scribner's Sons, Inc.," each receiving shares of stock in the corporation (1198, 799, 1, 1, and 1, respectively).
February 1 CS II and Arthur H. Scribner sell their copartnership to Charles Scribner's Sons, Inc.
April 30 publication date of The American Natural History: A Foundation of Useful Knowledge of the Higher Animals of North America by William T. Hornaday, the American naturalist, conservationist, and first director of the New York Zoological Park
September 17 publication date of Arthur Stanwood Pier's The Boys of St. Timothy's, the first book illustrated by N. C. Wyeth
November 10 publication date of Henry James's The Golden Bowl
1905 January Scribners brings a lawsuit against R. H. Macy & Company, the New York City department store, charging infringement of copyright by cutting prices on its copyrighted books--one of similar cases, all involving the American Publishers' Association's attempt to end discounting of members' books.
June 5 CS II and Arthur Hawley Scribner purchase property at 311-319 West 43rd St. for future printing plant; the closing takes place on September 5th.
 
October 14 publication date of Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth, the #8 bestseller of 1905 and #9 of 1906
1906 May publication of Charles Dana Gibson's The Gibson Book: A Collection of the Published Works of Charles Dana Gibson (2 vols.)
June publication of the first twenty-three volumes (of 28) in the Elkhorn Edition of The Works of Theodore Roosevelt, which is completed in 1920
October Princeton University Press incorporates with CS II as president. Located in Princeton, N.J., the company re-organizes as a non-profit corporation in 1910.
October 27 publication date of the first volume (of 13) in the Viking Edition of The Collected Works of Henrik Ibsen, revised and edited by William Archer, which is completed in 1911
December 8 publication date of J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
1907 April The Scribner Building at 311-319 West 43rd Street is ready for occupancy.
December 14 publication date of the first two volumes (of 26) in the New York Edition of The Novels and Tales of Henry James, which is completed in 1917
1908 June 1 The Supreme Court, in the Scribner/Macy suit, rules against the right of the publisher "to restrain the selling at retail of books copyrighted under the laws of the United States, at prices less than those fixed by complainants, and the buying of such copyrighted books except under the rules and regulations of the American Publishers' Association." Other legal aspects of the "Macy cases" are argued till the Court's ruling of 1 December 1913: copyright is not exempt from the provision of the Sherman Anti-Trust Law against monopoly.
July 29 An early morning fire heavily damages the 3rd and 4th floor offices (home of Scribner's Magazine and the Subscription Dept.) in the firm's headquarters building at 153-157 Fifth Avenue.
August 29 publication date of F. Hopkinson Smith's Peter: A Novel of Which He Is Not the Hero, the #6 bestseller of 1908 and #9 of 1909
October 8 publication date of Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows, the first American edition of this children's classic
October 17 publication date of John Fox, Jr.'s The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, the #3 bestseller of 1908 and #5 of 1909
1909 January publication of the one-volume edition of Dictionary of the Bible, edited by James Hastings, one of the firm's most popular religious reference works
April 17 publication date of Edith Wharton's Artemis to Actæon, and Other Verse, her first volume of poetry
October This month's issue of Scribner's Magazine, containing the first of Theodore Roosevelt's African hunting articles, reaches a circulation of 215,000 copies, the largest reached to date by a high-priced magazine.
1910 February Maxwell Perkins starts his career with the firm as Scribners' advertising manager.
February 26 publication date of The Stoic and Epicurean by R. D. Hicks, the first title in the Epochs of Philosophy series
August 24 publication date of Theodore Roosevelt's African Game Trails
1911 John Hall Wheelock, a promising poet, begins work at Scribners as a bookstore employee. He becomes an editor in 1926 and retires in 1957 as editor-in-chief.
September 30 publication date of Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome
September 30 publication date of the N. C. Wyeth-illustrated edition of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, the first work in the Scribner Illustrated Classics series
 
October Princeton University Press moves into its new $125,000 building at 41 William Street in Princeton, N.J., erected and equipped with funds provided by CS II.
October 21 publication date of J. M. Barrie's Peter and Wendy (the version of Peter Pan with Neverland and Captain Hook), illustrated by F. D. Bedford
 
1912 February 17 CS II signs contract to purchase 597-599 Fifth Avenue for new building site; he closes the purchase on March 15th.
June 29 publication date of James Weber Linn's The Essentials of English Composition, which would prove to be one of the most popular college publications of the Educational Dept. through World War II
1913 March 10 publication date of John Fox, Jr.'s Heart of the Hills, the #5 bestseller of 1913
March 11 At a special meeting, stockholders of Charles Scribner's Sons, Inc., approved the proposal by its board of directors to to drop the term Incorporated from the firm's name.
May Charles Scribner's Sons moves to 597-599 Fifth Avenue into a building again designed by Ernest Flagg, CS II's brother-in-law.
 
May 24 publication date of Price Collier's Germany and the Germans, the #2 nonfiction bestseller of 1913
July 14 Charles Scribner (CS III), having graduated from Princeton in June, joins his father and uncle in the family publishing firm.
October 18 publication date of Edith Wharton's The Custom of the Country
1914 Maxwell Perkins becomes an editor.
April 11 publication date of London: Critical Notes on the National Gallery and the Wallace Collection by John C. Van Dyke, the first volume (of 12) in his New Guides to Old Masters series, which he completed in 1927
April 25 publication date of Frederick Palmer's The Last Shot, a novel that uncannily predicted much of World War I, the only book about war to sell appreciably during the war's first two years
May Edward L. Burlingame retires; Robert Bridges (photograph) takes over the editorship of Scribner's Magazine.
July 17 CS II pays $140,000 to settle Macy lawsuit over the store's right to sell copyrighted books at any price it wants.
1915 September 18 publication date of F. Hopkinson Smith's Felix O'Day, the #7 bestseller of 1915
1916 January 22 publication date of The Book of the Homeless, edited by Edith Wharton. Scribners' profits from this volume of original and unpublished poetry, prose, and artwork, donated by well-known authors and artists, supports Wharton's World War I refugee work in France.
April 8 publication date of Frank H. Spearman's Nan of Music Mountain, the #8 bestseller of 1916
May 20 publication date of J. J. Jusserand's With America of Past and Present Days, winner of the 1917 Pulitzer Prize for history
December 9 publication date of Alan Seeger's Poems, the #4 general nonfiction bestseller of 1917 and #10 of 1918
1917 April 14 publication date of the first three titles in the Modern Student's Library: The Ordeal of Richard Feverel by George Meredith, Pendennis by William Makepeace Thackeray, and The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
June 6 Scribners purchases Forbes & Co., the publisher of Architecture magazine; the August issue is the first bearing the Scribner imprint.
June (end) Whitney Darrow, manager of the Princeton University Press, becomes the book advertising manager at Scribners.
November 16 publication date of Richard Harding Davis's Adventures and Letters of Richard Harding Davis, the #7 general nonfiction bestseller of 1918
1918 April 29 publication date of Jesse Lynch Williams's Why Marry?, the winner of the 1918 Pulitzer Prize for drama
June 7 publication date of War Letters of Edmond Genet, The First American Aviator Killed Flying the Stars and Stripes, edited, with an introduction, by Grace Ellery Channing
1919 September Charles Kingsley arrives in London to become Scribners' English representative, succeeding Lemuel W. Bangs.
September 12 publication date of Theodore Roosevelt's Roosevelt's Letters to His Children, edited by Joseph B. Bishop, the #3 nonfiction bestseller of 1920
1920 March 26 publication of F. Scott Fitzgerald's first book, This Side of Paradise
 
September 10 publication date of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Flappers and Philosophers
September 24 publication date of Edward Bok's first book, The Americanization of Edward Bok, winner of the 1921 Pulitzer Prize for biography, and the #3 nonfiction bestseller of 1922, the #8 of 1923, and #10 of 1924
1921 May 12 publication date of What Really Happened at Paris: The Story of the Peace Conference, 1918-1919, by American Delegates, edited by Edward M. House and Charles Seymour
October publication of the first two volumes (of 26) of the Vailima Edition of The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson, which is completed in 1923
December 15 death of Lemuel W. Bangs, head of Scribners' London office from 1884 to 1919
1922 March 4 publication date of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Beautiful and Damned
March 24 publication date of John Galsworthy's The Forsyte Saga
September 22 publication date of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tales of the Jazz Age
November 15 death of Edward L. Burlingame, first editor (1887-1914) of Scribner's Magazine
1923 February 16 publication date of Arthur Train's His Children's Children, the #2 bestseller of 1923
February 23 publication date of Stark Young's first Scribner book, The Flower in Drama: A Book of Papers on the Theatre
April 6 publication date of Edward Bok's A Man from Maine, the #10 nonfiction bestseller of 1923
April 6 publication date of the first two volumes (of 5) of Sir Winston Churchill's first Scribner book, The World Crisis
April 27 publication date of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Vegetable; or, From President to Postman
September 7 publication date of Edith Wharton's A Son at the Front
September 23 publication date of Michael Idvorsky Pupin's From Immigrant to Inventor, winner of the 1924 Pulitzer Prize for biography
1924 February Third floor offices (Subscription, Magazine Circulation, Supply, and Mail Order Depts.) at 597-599 Fifth Ave. move to the tenth floor of the Scribner Building at 311-319 West 43rd St.
May 9 publication date of Ring Lardner's first Scribner book, How to Write Short Stories (With Samples)
September 19 publication date of Will James's first book, Cowboys North and South
October 15 publication date of the first two volumes (of 28) in the Atlantic Edition of The Works of H. G. Wells, which is completed in 1927
1925 January 10 publication date of Edward Bok's Twice Thirty, the #7 nonfiction bestseller of 1925
February 1st issue of The Scribner Bookstore News, a periodical (pamphlet) offering a selected list of current books from all publishers
March 27 publication date of James Boyd's first book, Drums
April 10 publication date of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby
 
October 9 publication date of Edith Wharton's The Writing of Fiction
1926 February 26 publication date of F. Scott Fitzgerald's All the Sad Young Men
March 12 publication date of Volume I of Mark Sullivan's Our Times, the #4 nonfiction bestseller of 1926
May 28 publication date of Ernest Hemingway's first Scribner book, The Torrents of Spring
 
July 9 publication date of John Galsworthy's The Silver Spoon, the #6 bestseller of 1926
September publication of the first volume (of 10) in the Julian Edition of The Complete Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley, which is completed in 1930
September 10 publication date of Will James's Smoky, the Cowhorse, winner of the 1927 Newbery Medal for best children's book
 
October 8 publication date of Willard Huntington Wright's first Scribner book, The Benson Murder Case, published under the pseudonym of "S. S. Van Dine"
October 22 publication date of Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises
 
1927 June 3 Scribners signs contract with the American Council of Learned Societies to publish the multi-volume Dictionary of American Biography.
July 22 publication date of Conrad Aiken's first Scribner book, Blue Voyage, the first novel by this American poet
October 14 publication date of Ernest Hemingway's Men Without Women
September John Carter assumes responsibility for Scribners' London rare book business.
1928 George McKay Schieffelin, eldest grandson of CS II, becomes assistant treasurer, moving to the firm from the Scribner Press, where he had been assistant to the manager. Over the next fifty-four years--the longest tenure of any Scribner family member--he will assume greater management responsibilities: 1936, treasurer; 1953, senior vice-president; 1963, executive vice-president; 1970, chairman of the board; 1978, director of Scribner Book Companies.
Arthur Hawley Scribner assumes presidency of Scribners when CS II "retires" to become chairman of the board.
January 1st issue of Scribner's Magazine in its new format, with a cover designed by Rockwell Kent
March 24 publication date of Willard Huntington Wright's The Greene Murder Case (under pseudonym of "S. S. Van Dine"), the #4 bestseller of 1928
July 10 publication date of John Galsworthy's Swan Song, the #3 bestseller of 1928
July 22 death of W. C. Brownell, Scribner editor and literary adviser, who started with the firm in 1888
October 26 publication date of Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini's My Autobiography
November 8 publication date of the first volume (of 21) of the Dictionary of American Biography, which is completed in 1937 with the index volume, though later supplements are issued
1929 February 20 publication date of Willard Huntington Wright's The Bishop Murder Case (under pseudonym of "S. S. Van Dine"), the #4 bestseller of 1929
June Boston bans this month's issue of Scribner's Magazine, which begins the serialization of Ernest Hemingway's novel A Farewell to Arms, on complaints that his fiction is "salacious." July's issue is treated similarly.
September 27 publication date of Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms
 
October publication of the first two volumes (of 18) in the Peter Pan Edition of The Works of J. M. Barrie, which is completed in 1941
October 18 publication date of Thomas Wolfe's first book, Look Homeward, Angel
 
November 15 publication date of Conrad Aiken's Selected Poems, winner of the 1930 Pulitzer Prize for poetry
1930 February Robert Bridges retires as editor of Scribner's Magazine to become a literary adviser to the firm. Associate editor, Alfred S. Dashiell, becomes "managing editor" (new title) of the magazine.
April Scribner's Magazine announces in this issue the offer of a prize of $5,000 for the best "long" short story (between 15,000 and 35,000 words) submitted by an American author by September 20th--won by John Peale Bishop's "Many Thousands Gone."
April 18 publication date of Russian Communist leader Leon Trotsky's My Life: An Attempt at an Autobiography
April 19 death of Charles Scribner (CS II)
August 1 publication date of Will James's Lone Cowboy, the #5 nonfiction bestseller of 1930
September Scribners' London office, having outgrown its quarters in Regent Street, moves to 23 Bedford Square, the new publishing center of the city, a block or two from the British Museum.
 
September 12 publication date of Bernadotte E. Schmitt's The Coming of War, 1914 (2 vols.), winner of the 1931 Pulitzer Prize for history
1931 August Scribner's Magazine announces another $5,000 prize for the best long story/short novel (between 15,000 and 30,000 words) submitted by American writers by 1 February 1932. Co-winners are Thomas Wolfe ("A Portrait of Bascom Hawke") and John Herrmann ("The Big Short Trip").
September 11 publication date of Caroline Gordon's first book, Penhally
November 2 publication date of John Galsworthy's Maid in Waiting, the #10 bestseller of 1931
1932 January 1st issue of Scribner's Magazine in its new, larger format
February 5 publication date of Clarence Darrow's The Story of My Life, the #9 nonfiction bestseller of 1932
February 11 publication date of Erskine Caldwell's Tobacco Road, his first full-length novel and the only one published by Scribners
February 26 publication date of Nancy Hale's first book, The Young Die Good
March 1 publication date of Marcia Davenport's first book, Mozart
March 4 publication date of Allen Tate's first Scribner book, Poems: 1928-1931
July 3 death of Arthur Hawley Scribner
September 23 publication date of Volume I of James Truslow Adams's The March of Democracy, the #7 nonfiction bestseller of 1932
September 23 publication date of Ernest Hemingway's Death in the Afternoon
September 26 CS III is elected president of Scribners.
November 10 John Galsworthy wins the 1932 Nobel Prize for Literature.
December 9 publication date of Reinhold Niebuhr's first Scribner book, Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics
1933 March 1 publication date of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings's first book, South Moon Under
March 17 publication date of Volume II of James Truslow Adams's The March of Democracy, the #10 nonfiction bestseller of 1933
October 3 publication date of John Galsworthy's One More River, the #5 bestseller of 1933
October 27 publication date of Ernest Hemingway's Winner Take Nothing
1934 Alice Dalgliesh, a popular author of children's books and a former elementary school teacher, becomes the firm's children's book editor, a position she will hold till her retirement in 1960.
January 5 publication date of Peter Fleming's Brazilian Adventure, the #7 nonfiction bestseller of 1934
April 12 publication date of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tender Is the Night
 
July 24 publication date of Stark Young's So Red the Rose, the #3 bestseller of 1934
October 5 publication date of the first two volumes (of 4) of Douglas Southall Freeman's R. E. Lee: A Biography, the #9 nonfiction bestseller of 1935 and winner of the 1935 Pultizer Prize for biography
November publication of the first two volumes (of 12) in the Wilderness Edition of the The Complete Plays of Eugene O'Neill, which is completed in 1935
1935 March David A. Randall becomes manager of Scribners' Rare Book Department.
March 8 publication date of Thomas Wolfe's Of Time and the River, the #3 bestseller of 1935
March 20 publication date of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Taps at Reveille
September 6 publication date of Robert Briffault's Europa, the #10 bestseller of 1935
October 25 publication date of Ernest Hemingway's Green Hills of Africa
1936 February 1 publication date of George Santayana's The Last Puritan, the #2 bestseller of 1936 (behind Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind)
March 20 publication date of Madeline Darrough Horn's Farm on the Hill, the only children's book illustrated by American artist Grant Wood
April 3 publication date of Robert E. Sherwood's Idiot's Delight, winner of the 1936 Pulitzer Prize for drama
April 21 publication date of Thomas Wolfe's The Story of a Novel
May Architecture magazine's last issue. Merging with American Architect, it forms American Architect and Architecture, published by Hearst Magazines, beginning with the June issue.
October Harlan D. Logan, a former Rhodes Scholar and New York University professor, takes over the editorship of Scribner's Magazine; retiring editor, Alfred S. Dashiell, moves to the Reader's Digest.
October 1st issue of Scribner's Magazine in its new format, with cover designed by Thomas Cleland
November 18 publication date of Paul Tillich's first Scribner book, The Interpretation of History, translated by N. A. Rasetzki and Elsa L. Talmey
December 10 publication date of volume 20, the last text volume of the original edition of the Dictionary of American Biography
December 29 Scribners announces its plan for the Dictionary of American History, with James Truslow Adams, historian, as editor-in-chief.
1937 October 15 publication date of Ernest Hemingway's To Have and Have Not
1938 January Harlan Logan Associates, Inc., publishes Scribner's Magazine, having acquired the rights from Scribners, which still retains an interest.
April 1 publication date of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings's The Yearling, the #1 bestseller of 1938 and #7 of 1939, and winner of the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for fiction
 
September 16 publication date of Dynasty of Death, the first book of "Taylor Caldwell," the pseudonym of Janet M. Reback
October 1 The Book Buyer, the Scribner periodical begun in 1867, changes form, appearing for the first time as a double-page spread in this issue of The Saturday Review of Literature.
October 14 publication date of Ernest Hemingway's The Fifth Column and the First Forty-Nine Stories 
1939 February 11 publication date of Robert E. Sherwood's Abe Lincoln in Illinois, winner of the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for drama
February 15 publication date of the first volume (of 8) in the Hampstead Edition ofThe Poetical Works and Other Writings of John Keats, which is completed in October
March CS III is appointed sponsor for the book and magazine publishing field of advance tickets to the New York World's Fair, one of 60 leaders representing their business and professional fields.
May Scribner's Magazine suspends publication with this issue.
September 22 death of Joseph Hawley Chapin, art editor of Scribners (1897-1936)
November Scribner's Magazine merges into the Commentator, becoming Scribner's Commentator.
1940 June As World War II begins, Charles Kingsley returns to the States, leaving John Carter in charge of Scribners' London office.
September 24 publication date of the first five volumes (of 6) of the Dictionary of American History, which is completed with the index volume later that year
October 10 publication date of Robert E. Sherwood's There Shall Be No Night, winner of the 1941 Pulitzer Prize for drama
October 14 publication date of Allan Nevins's first Scribner book, John D. Rockefeller: The Heroic Age of American Enterprise (2 vols.)
October 21 publication date of Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls, the #4 bestseller of 1940 and #5 of 1941
 
1941 March 10 publication date of Scribner children's book editor Alice Dalgliesh's Three from Greenways, the story of some English children evacuees who make friends in America, the profits of which Scribners divided between the U.S. Committee for the Care of European Children and Save the Children Federation
July 8 John Carter, manager of Scribners' London branch, presents Britain's prime minister, Sir Winston Churchill, the original manuscript of Arthur Hugh Clough's poem "Say Not the Struggle Nought Availeth," at a ceremony at 10 Downing Street. Churchill had quoted the poem in his international broadcast of April 27th, following passage of the Lend-Lease Bill.
October 27 posthumous publication date of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Last Tycoon: An Unfinished Novel, edited by Edmund Wilson 
1942 March 16 publication date of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings's Cross Creek, the #4 nonfiction bestseller of 1942
August 1 The Scribner Bookstore in New York City takes over the trademark and business of Technical Books of America.
October 19 publication date of the first volume (of 3) of Douglas Southall Freeman's Lee's Lieutenants
October 26 publication date of Marcia Davenport's The Valley of Decision, the #2 bestseller of 1943
1943 May 17 publication date of the Atlas of American History, prepared by 64 well-known historians, with James Truslow Adams as editor-in-chief
1944 November 28 Scribners becomes part owner of the reprint publishing house of Grosset & Dunlap--with Random House, Harper & Brothers, Little, Brown, and the Book-of-the-Month Club.
1945 January In connection with the firm's 100th anniversary, Scribners offers a $10,000 prize for "the most important and interesting book-length manuscript on any phase of American history from the discovery of America to the present day," submitted between 1 October 1945 and 1 February 1946--won by Allan Nevins's Ordeal of the Union (vols. 1 and 2).
1946 February Burroughs Mitchell, a former associate editor and manuscript reader for the Macmillan Company, joins the editorial staff.
April 8 publication date of Taylor Caldwell's This Side of Innocence, the #2 bestseller of 1946
April 15 publication date of Victor Kravchenko's I Chose Freedom, the #7 nonfiction bestseller of 1946
September 16 Norman H. Snow, editor-in-chief of Triangle Books, succeeds Whitney Darrow as director of the trade department; Darrow becomes executive vice-president of the firm.
October Charles Scribner (CS IV), a graduate of Princeton (Class of 1943) and a cryptanalyst in the navy during World War II, joins the firm, succeeding William C. Weber as director of advertising and publicity.
October 28 publication date of Of Making Many Books: A Hundred Years of Reading, Writing and Publishing, the centennial "history" of the firm by Roger Burlingame
November 7 Princeton University announces gift of $50,000 by Scribners to its new library, the Harvey S. Firestone Library, in memory of previous Scribner family graduates of the University, beginning with the founder, CS I, Class of 1840.
1947 June 17 death of Scribners' legendary editor, Maxwell Perkins
June 30 Edward Thomas Lord, senior vice-president and manager of the Educational Department which he organized in 1893, retires. He is succeeded by Harold C. Cheney.
September 2 Harry Brague comes to Scribners from Dodd, Mead as an editor.
October 13 publication date of science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein's first book, Rocket Ship Galileo
 
October 20 publication date of Marcia Davenport's East Side, West Side, the #9 bestseller of 1947
1948 February 2 publication date of Alan Paton's first Scribner book, Cry, The Beloved Country: A Story of Comfort in Desolation
 
October 4 publication date of Peter Viereck's Terror and Decorum: Poems, 1940-1948, winner of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for poetry
October 11 publication date of Seraph on the Suwanee, the last novel by Zora Neale Hurston, who was prominent in the Harlem Renaissance 
October 14 publication date of the first two volumes (of 7, completed in 1957) of Douglas Southall Freeman's George Washington, A Biography, winner of the 1958 Pulitzer Prize for biography
1949 March 14 publication date of Leo Politi's Song of the Swallows, winner of the 1950 Caldecott Medal
August 8 publication date of George Washington by Genevieve Foster, the first title in the Initial Biographies series for children aged 8-12
1950 February 20 publication date of the first three titles in the Twentieth Century Library series on "the great thinkers of modern times and their influence," edited by Hiram Haydn
March 13 publication date of Katherine Milhous's Egg Tree, winner of the 1951 Caldecott Medal
March 27 publication date of Editor to Author: The Letters of Maxwell E. Perkins, edited by John Hall Wheelock
September 7 publication date of Ernest Hemingway's Across the River Into the Trees, the #3 bestseller of 1950
1951 February Scribners' Rare Book Dept. acquires the presumably "lost," Shuckburgh copy of the Gutenberg Bible.
February 26 publication date of James Jones's first book, From Here to Eternity, the #1 bestseller of 1951 and #5 of 1953 (in its movie edition), and winner of the 1951 National Book Award for fiction
 
February 26 publication date of the the World Edition of Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales, edited by Svend Larsen, translated from the original Danish text by E. P. Keigwin, with illustrations reproduced from the originals of Vilhelm Pedersen
May 21 publication date of Cardinal Spellman's The Foundling, the #9 bestseller of 1951
1952 February 11 death of Charles Scribner (CS III)
March 24 publication date of Paul Hyde Bonner's first book, S.P.Q.R.: A Romance
April 21 CS IV is elected president of Scribners.
August 18 publication date of Kurt Vonnegut's first book, Player Piano
September 8 publication date of Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, the #7 bestseller of 1952 and winner of the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for fiction
 
1953 April Elinor Parker, assistant manager of the Scribner Bookstore, joins the editorial department. From 1938 to 1944, she had been head of the Bookstore's children's department.
June The three Scribner Bookstore windows are redesigned "to take the curse off the cathedral-like atmosphere of the store": new eggcrate lighting, reduced height, and yellow three-panel pegboards.
July 13 publication date of The Scribner Treasury, a collection of 22 popular works of fiction originally published by Scribners (1881-1932)
September 14 publication date of Charles A. Lindbergh's The Spirit of St. Louis, winner of the 1954 Pulitzer Prize for biography
 
 
November Charles Scribner's Sons, Ltd. (London), discontinues operations as an editorial and rare book purchasing agency for Scribners (New York).
1954 January 8 publication date of Morton Thompson's Not As a Stranger, the #1 bestseller of 1954 and #7 of 1955
October 11 publication date of Marcia Brown's illustrated translation of Cinderella; Or, The Little Glass Slipper by Charles Perrault, winner of the 1955 Caldecott Medal
October 28 Ernest Hemingway wins the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature.
September 14 publication date of Poets of Today I, the first volume in an experimental new series edited by Scribner editor and poet John Hall Wheelock, presenting three complete books of poems by promising American poets in each volume
November publication of the first three titles in the Gallery of Masterpieces series of art books: Giotto, Fra Angelico, and Rembrandt
1955 January 10 publication date of C. P. Snow's first Scribner book, The New Men
April 5 Scribners announces its decision to discontinue the operation of the Scribner Press.
May Scribners opens its new billing and shipping center in 50,000 square feet of leased space in Belleville, N.J.
July The Scribner Building at 311-319 West 43rd St. is sold.
Fall The Scribner Bookstore is thoroughly renovated in September and October, including the addition of a Scribner Young Readers' Bookshop, an expanded stationery dept., and the removal of the back walls of the Fifth Avenue display windows.
September 15 Scribners reissues the 26 titles in the Scribner Illustrated Classics series in newly-designed, full-color book jackets.
1956 February Whitney Darrow retires after nearly forty years with the firm, most recently as a director.
1957 January 31 Senior editor John Hall Wheelock retires, devoting himself full-time to his career as a poet. He would win the Bollingen Prize in 1962.
February 4 publication date of Gerald Green's bestseller The Last Angry Man: A Novel
December CS IV is elected president of the Princeton University Press.
1958 January 31 Wallace Meyer retires, after 30 years as editor.
September 17 publication date of Short Story I, the first volume in a new series devoted to the short fiction of new American writers
1959 April Scribners divests itself of its share of Grosset & Dunlap, Inc., the reprint paperback publisher.
1960 January 25 publication date of Marcia Davenport's The Constant Image, the #6 bestseller of 1960
February Scribners moves its warehouse and shipping facilities to the Book Warehouse, Inc., in Totowa, N.J., a modern warehouse and distribution center partially owned by the company and the Scribner family.
February 15 First 21 titles in the Scribner Library (paperbacks) are published. Title #1 (i.e., SL 1) is F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.
 
August 23 publication date of Poets of Today VII, which includes James Dickey's Into the Stone and Other Poems, the first book publication of this American poet
November Bobbs-Merrill acquires the elementary school publications of Scribners.
1961 October publication of Marcia Brown's Once a Mouse...: A Fable Cut in Wood, winner of the 1962 Caldecott Medal
1962 February The Scribner Building at 597 Fifth Avenue is classified as a "Landmark of New York" by the New York Community Trust.
 
April 9 publication date of Robert Creeley's first Scribner book, For Love: Poems 1950-1960, one of the first three books also issued in paperback as "Scribner First Editions"
June 27 publication date of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Pat Hobby Stories, edited by Arnold Gingrich
September 28 publication date of Erica Wilson's Crewel Embroidery, the first of its kind, which opened up a large new market for the firm in needlecraft books
1963 December Scribners establishes a new science book dept. under the direction of Kenneth Heuer.
1964 March Scribners establishes a new reference book dept. under the direction of Jacek M. Galazka, incoporating its subscription dept.
May 5 posthumous publication date of Ernest Hemingway's memoir A Moveable Feast, the #8 nonfiction bestseller of 1964
 
June Scribners establishes a new trade history book dept. under the direction of Joseph G. E. Hopkins.
1965 February 23 Scribners announces its plan to publish the Dictionary of Scientific Biography under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies--Charles Coulston Gillispie, professor of history of Science at Princeton University, to serve as editor-in-chief.
September 13 publication date of the 1200-page virtuoso novel by Marguerite Young, Miss MacIntosh, My Darling, the last work accepted by Maxwell Perkins (in 1945) to be published by the firm
1966 May 25 CS IV is elected president of the American Book Publishers Council.
June 14 CS IV is awarded an honorary degree from Princeton University.
July 7 publication date of P. D. James's first Scribner book, Cover Her Face
1967 January 24 By deed of gift of selected authors' correspondence, Scribners establishes its archives at Princeton University, making it available for research. The official presentation ceremony is held at Princeton on March 30th.
April Scribners outlines its plan for the Dictionary of the History of Ideas--Philip P. Wiener, editor of the Journal of the History of Ideas, to serve as executive editor.
1968 March 22 death of Harry Brague, senior editor and vice-president of Scribners
April 2 publication date of the first titles in the Lyceum Editions series, an expansion of the Scribner Library paperbacks, including works in religion, science, history, and literary criticism
July Scribners forms an Education Division, which will include the firm's college and school depts., to promote and sell the Scribner Library paperback series.
October 23 publication date of René Dubos's first Scribner book, So Human an Animal, winner of the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction
1969 January Scribners acquires the assets of the Coleman-Ross Company, Inc., a music publisher.
June 12 publication date of the first titles in the Emblem Editions series, an expansion of the Scribner Library paperbacks, specializing in practical and entertaining books on popular subjects, such as gardening and cooking
1970 July publication of the first two volumes (of 16) of the Dictionary of Scientific Biography, which is completed in 1980 with the index volume, though later supplements are issued
August 1 Scribners incorporates its bookstore, formerly a department of the firm, as a separate company under the name of "Scribner Book Stores, Inc."
September 11 posthumous publication date of Ernest Hemingway's Islands in the Stream, the #3 bestseller of 1970
October 1 publication date of Loren Eiseley's first Scribner book, The Invisible Pyramid
1971 March 23 publication of Arline Thomas's Bird Ambulance, the first title in the Portfolios in Natural History series
spring Scribner Book Stores, Inc., opens its first branch bookstore, at the invitation of Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, in the town's Merchant Square.
summer publication of the last two volumes of Allan Nevins's Ordeal of the Union (volumes 3 and 4 of The War for the Union), winners of the 1972 National Book Award for history
1972 March 27 publication date of Ernest Hemingway's The Nick Adams Stories
1973 June 7 publication date of Paul E. Erdman's The Billion Dollar Sure Thing, the #9 bestseller of 1973
June 22 publication date of the first four volumes (of 5) of the Dictionary of the History of Ideas, edited by Philip P. Wiener, which is completed with the index volume in 1974
August 23 publication date of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Basil and Josephine Stories, edited by Jackson R. Bryer and John Kuehl
1974 July 1 Scribner Book Stores, Inc., opens a branch bookstore in Denver, Colorado.
September publication of American Writers (4 vols.), edited by Leonard Unger, though later supplements are issued
1975 January 8 Scribners announces the appointment of Jacques Barzun, former provost of Columbia University and professor of modern cultural history, as literary consultant to the firm.
June 30 Charles Scribner III (CS V), a graduate of Princeton (B.A., 1973; M.F.A., 1975; PhD., 1977), joins the family publishing firm.
1976 May 4 CS IV accepts the first Curtis G. Benjamin Award for Creative Publishing, given by the Association of American Publishers at its annual meeting.
September publication of What the Forest Tells Me: The 1977 Sierra Club Calendar and Almanac for Young People, the first joint publication of Scribners and Sierra Club Books
1977 January Editor-in-chief Burroughs Mitchell retires after thirty years with the firm.
February 7 publication date of The Scribner-Bantam English Dictionary, the firm's first and only English dictionary
1978 July 31 Charles Scribner's Sons and Atheneum Publishers announce plans to merge early in the fall, each firm operating as a separate division in the new company, The Scribner Book Companies, while preserving its independent imprint. CS IV will be chairman, Alfred Knopf, Jr., vice-chairman, and Franklyn L. Rodgers, president.
1979 January publication of the first two volumes (of 8) of British Writers, edited by Ian Scott-Kilvert, which is completed with the index volume in 1984, though later supplements are issued
September 21 publication date of Joan W. Blos's A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal, 1830-32, winner of the 1980 Newbery Medal
1980 April 30 Elinor Parker, an editor since 1953 and the firm's first woman vice-president, retires after more than forty years with Scribners.
May 8 publication date of P. D. James's bestseller, Innocent Blood
1981 February publication date of Ernest Hemingway: Selected Letters, 1917-1961, edited by Carlos Baker
March Scribners offers two new literary prizes--the Maxwell Perkins Prize of $10,000 for a first novel about the American experience and the Scribner Crime Novel Award of $7,500 for a first mystery--with a deadline of September 30th. Winners are Margaret Mitchell Dukore for A Novel Called Heritage and Carol Clemeau for The Ariadne Clue.
November CS V is named head of the firm's new paperback division.
1982 January 1 Rawson, Wade Publishers, Inc., joins the Scribner Book Companies as a new division, Rawson Associates, with Kenneth Rawson as president.
March publication of Science Fiction Writers, edited by E. F. Bleiler
March 23 The New York City Landmarks Preservation Committee designates the Scribner Building at 597 Fifth Avenue as a city landmark.
May 26 publication date of Marcia Brown's illustrated translation of Shadow by Blaise Cendrars, winner of the 1983 Caldecott Medal
September publication of Ancient Writers: Greece and Rome (2 vols.), edited by T. James Luce
November 1 Leisure Press, a publisher of sports, recreation, and physical fitness titles, becomes a division, Leisure Publications, of the Scribner Book Companies.
November publication of the first volume (of 13) of the Dictionary of the Middle Ages, edited by Joseph R. Strayer, which is completed with the index volume in 1989
1983 March Franklin L. Rodgers leaves Scribners to assume presidency of Warner Publishing Services; CS IV becomes acting president of the Scribner Book Companies.
May Jacek M. Galazka becomes president of Charles Scribner's Sons.
May CS V becomes executive vice-president and secretary of the Scribner Book Companies.
July Allen M. Rabinowitz becomes treasurer of the Scribner Book Companies, and president, later, during merger negotiations with Macmillan, Inc.
November publication of the first two volumes (of 14) of European Writers, edited by William T. H. Jackson, which is completed with the index volume in 1991
1984 May 31 The Scribner Book Companies merge with Macmillan, Inc., becoming an independent subsidiary while continuing the imprints of Charles Scribner's Sons, Atheneum, and Rawson Associates.
August The Scribner family completes the sale of the Scribner Building at 597 Fifth Avenue to the Cohen family, owners of the Duane Reade Corporation.
November CS V becomes a vice-president of the Macmillan Publishing Company.
December Rizzoli International Bookstores buys Scribner Book Stores, Inc.
1985 March 4 Mildred Marmur becomes president and publisher of the Charles Scribner's Sons adult trade books division under Macmillan.
April publication of Supernatural Fiction Writers (2 vols.), edited by E. F. Bleiler
June 24 posthumous publication date of Ernest Hemingway's The Dangerous Summer
October publication of William Shakespeare: His World, His Work, His Influence (3 vols.), edited by John f. Andrews
1986 March publication date of Barry Lopez's Arctic Dreams, winner of the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction
May 28 posthumous publication date of Ernest Hemingway's The Garden of Eden
July CS IV retires as chairman of the Scribner Book Companies.
1987 October publication of Writers for Children, edited by Jane M. Bingham
December 2 publication of the Finca Vigía Edition of The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway
1988 April 20 Robert Stewart is appointed publisher of Charles Scribner's Sons adult trade books; he also retains the title of editor-in-chief.
October publication of Annie Proulx's first Scribner book, Heart Songs and Other Stories
November 4 Robert Maxwell's Maxwell Communication Corporation acquires Macmillan, Inc.
1989 January 22 The Scribner Bookstore, a literary landmark since 1913 at 597 Fifth Avenue, closes.
 
January Barnes & Noble acquires Scribner Book Stores, Inc., from Rizzoli International Bookstores.
June Karen Day becomes publisher of Charles Scribner Son's Reference Books, the first woman to head that division.
July publication of Latin American Writers (3 vols.), edited by Carlos A. Solé
1990 January 29 Barbara Grossman becomes publisher of Charles Scribner's Sons adult trade books.
1991 January 7 publication date of Charles Scribner, Jr.'s (CS IV's) In the Company of Writers: A Life in Publishing
 
March publication of African American Writers, edited by Valerie Smith, A. Walton Litz, and Lea Baechler
March publication of Modern American Women Writers, edited by Elaine Showalter, A. Walton Litz, and Lea Baechler
1993 April publication of Annie Proulx's The Shipping News, winner of the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for fiction
June 15 publication date of Charles Scribner, Jr.'s (CS IV's) In the Web of Ideas: The Education of a Publisher
1994 February 28 Paramount Communications, Inc., completes its acquisition of the Macmillan Publishing Company from the bankrupt Maxwell Communication Corporation.
March Viacom, Inc., wins takeover war for Paramount Communications, Inc.
May Viacom revives the name of "Simon & Schuster" for its worldwide publishing operations.
June 13 Susan Moldow becomes publisher of "Scribner" (new name without "s") adult trade books under Simon & Schuster.
1995 February Scribner Paperback Fiction, an independent series for classics and contemporary fiction, is launched with five titles.
October publication of the Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War, edited by Stanley I. Kutler
November 11 death of Charles Scribner, Jr. (CS IV)
1996 May 15 publication date of Lost Laysen, the recently discovered romantic novella written by Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone With the Wind (Macmillan, 1936, which became a Scribner imprint in 1994), when she was sixteen
October 13 "The Company of Writers: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1846-1996," an exhibition honoring the firm's sesquicentennial, opens at Princeton University Library.
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