Charles H Kerr Company Publishers
Encyclopedia
Charles H. Kerr Publishing Company was established in Chicago, Illinois in 1886 by Charles Hope Kerr
, originally to promote his Unitarian
and vegetarian
views. As Kerr's personal interests moved from religion to Marxism
and he became interested in the labor movement, the company's publications took a similar turn. The company's 1900 catalog promised books "on socialism, free thought, economics
, history
, hygiene, American fiction, etc."
. Kerr & Co. was also the first publisher of volumes 2 and 3 of Capital, publishing original translations made for it by Ernest Untermann in 1907 and 1909, respectively. From 1900 through 1918, Kerr also produced a monthly theoretical and political magazine, the International Socialist Review
(ISR), one of the most important publications of the American radical movement in this period. The publication was closely linked to the Socialist Party of America
, with first editor A.M. Simons
taking a scholastic and theoretical bent towards its content. From about 1908, Charles H. Kerr himself took over the publication's editorial role, and the magazine moved further to the left wing of the socialist movement, paying closer attention to the strike movement and the Industrial Workers of the World
.
Kerr was noted for his translation from the French of the radical workers' movement anthem, "The Internationale
;" his version became the English words sung in the United States (although a different, anonymous English translation is sung in Britain and Ireland). Kerr's version was widely circulated in the IWW's Little Red Songbook
.
During World War I
, the US government denied mailing privileges to all Kerr publications, alleging them to be seditious violations of the Espionage Act of 1917
. The ban dealt a fatal blow to the ISR, never a profitable publication in the best of times.
Immediately after the war, Charles Kerr came into close contact with the Scottish-born Detroit radical John Keracher
through the latter's "Proletarian University" movement and its need for Marxist literature. In 1920, Keracher took a faction out of the underground Communist Party of America and established a small rival organization, the Proletarian Party of America
. Keracher became a member of the Kerr Board of the Directors in 1924 and in 1928 Charles Kerr sold him the bulk of his controlling shares in the firm. Thereafter, the Proletarian Party controlled the operations of Kerr & Co., publishing a number of Keracher's works, including How the Gods Were Made (1929), Producers and Parasites (1935), The Head-Fixing Industry (1935), Crime: It's Causes and Consequences (1937), and Frederick Engels (1946). Owing to poor finances, comparatively few other new Kerr titles were ever published by the PPA, although the backlist of the company was no doubt invaluable in maintaining the tiny organization's solvency.
Following the departure of the Proletarian Party from the scene in the 1960s, Charles H. Kerr & Co. was kept alive by a hardy band of midwestern radicals close to the IWW orbit under its new moniker, Charles H. Kerr Publishing Co. Today, the Company advertises "Subversive literature for the whole family since 1886."
Charles Hope Kerr
Charles Hope Kerr , a son of abolitionists, was a vegetarian and Unitarian in 1886 when he established Charles H Kerr Company Publishers in Chicago right before the Haymarket Riot. Over the years, his company became a leading publisher of socialist, anarchist, and Wobbly works...
, originally to promote his Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
and vegetarian
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...
views. As Kerr's personal interests moved from religion to Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
and he became interested in the labor movement, the company's publications took a similar turn. The company's 1900 catalog promised books "on socialism, free thought, economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, hygiene, American fiction, etc."
History
In 1906 Kerr published the first volume of Karl Marx's Das KapitalDas Kapital
Das Kapital, Kritik der politischen Ökonomie , by Karl Marx, is a critical analysis of capitalism as political economy, meant to reveal the economic laws of the capitalist mode of production, and how it was the precursor of the socialist mode of production.- Themes :In Capital: Critique of...
. Kerr & Co. was also the first publisher of volumes 2 and 3 of Capital, publishing original translations made for it by Ernest Untermann in 1907 and 1909, respectively. From 1900 through 1918, Kerr also produced a monthly theoretical and political magazine, the International Socialist Review
International Socialist Review (1900)
The International Socialist Review was a monthly magazine published in Chicago, Illinois by Charles H. Kerr & Co. from 1900 until 1918. The magazine was chiefly a Marxist theoretical journal during its first years under the editorship of A.M. Simons. Beginning in 1908 the publication took a turn to...
(ISR), one of the most important publications of the American radical movement in this period. The publication was closely linked to the Socialist Party of America
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
, with first editor A.M. Simons
Algie Martin Simons
Algie Martin Simons was an American socialist journalist, newspaper editor, and political activist, best remembered as the editor of The International Socialist Review for nearly a decade...
taking a scholastic and theoretical bent towards its content. From about 1908, Charles H. Kerr himself took over the publication's editorial role, and the magazine moved further to the left wing of the socialist movement, paying closer attention to the strike movement and the Industrial Workers of the World
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
.
Kerr was noted for his translation from the French of the radical workers' movement anthem, "The Internationale
The Internationale
The Internationale is a famous socialist, communist, social-democratic and anarchist anthem.The Internationale became the anthem of international socialism, and gained particular fame under the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1944, when it was that communist state's de facto central anthem...
;" his version became the English words sung in the United States (although a different, anonymous English translation is sung in Britain and Ireland). Kerr's version was widely circulated in the IWW's Little Red Songbook
Little Red Songbook
thumb|180px|right|The Little Red SongbookSince the founding of the Industrial Workers of the World, also known as the IWW, songs have played a big part in spreading the message of the One Big Union...
.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the US government denied mailing privileges to all Kerr publications, alleging them to be seditious violations of the Espionage Act of 1917
Espionage Act of 1917
The Espionage Act of 1917 is a United States federal law passed on June 15, 1917, shortly after the U.S. entry into World War I. It has been amended numerous times over the years. It was originally found in Title 50 of the U.S. Code but is now found under Title 18, Crime...
. The ban dealt a fatal blow to the ISR, never a profitable publication in the best of times.
Immediately after the war, Charles Kerr came into close contact with the Scottish-born Detroit radical John Keracher
John Keracher
John Keracher was a Scottish-born American Marxist politician who founded the Proletarian Party of America in 1920.-Early years:...
through the latter's "Proletarian University" movement and its need for Marxist literature. In 1920, Keracher took a faction out of the underground Communist Party of America and established a small rival organization, the Proletarian Party of America
Proletarian Party of America
The Proletarian Party of America was a small communist political party in the United States, originating in 1920 and terminated in 1971. Originally an offshoot of the Communist Party of America, the group maintained an independent existence for over five decades. It is best remembered for carrying...
. Keracher became a member of the Kerr Board of the Directors in 1924 and in 1928 Charles Kerr sold him the bulk of his controlling shares in the firm. Thereafter, the Proletarian Party controlled the operations of Kerr & Co., publishing a number of Keracher's works, including How the Gods Were Made (1929), Producers and Parasites (1935), The Head-Fixing Industry (1935), Crime: It's Causes and Consequences (1937), and Frederick Engels (1946). Owing to poor finances, comparatively few other new Kerr titles were ever published by the PPA, although the backlist of the company was no doubt invaluable in maintaining the tiny organization's solvency.
Following the departure of the Proletarian Party from the scene in the 1960s, Charles H. Kerr & Co. was kept alive by a hardy band of midwestern radicals close to the IWW orbit under its new moniker, Charles H. Kerr Publishing Co. Today, the Company advertises "Subversive literature for the whole family since 1886."
Additional reading
- Ruff, Allen, "We Called Each Other Comrade": Charles H. Kerr & Company, Radical Publishers. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1997.