George Palmer Putnam was an important American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 book publisher.

Biography

Putnam was born in Brunswick, Maine

Brunswick, Maine

Brunswick is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 20,278 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. Brunswick is home to Bowdoin College, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum, , and the...

. On moving to New York City, Putnam was given his first job by Jonathan Leavitt

Jonathan Leavitt (publisher)

Jonathan Leavitt was a bookbinder who later co-founded the New York City publishing firm of Leavitt & Trow, one of the nation's first publishing houses. Leavitt was also co-founder of another early New York publishing house with his brother-in-law Daniel Appleton...

, who subsequently published Putnam's first book. In 1838, George Palmer Putnam and John Wiley

John Wiley & Sons

John Wiley & Sons, Inc., also referred to as Wiley, is a global publishing company that specializes in academic publishing and markets its products to professionals and consumers, students and instructors in higher education, and researchers and practitioners in scientific, technical, medical, and...

 established the publishing house of "Wiley & Putnam" in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. In 1841, Putnam went to London, UK

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 where he set up a branch office, the first American to ever do so. In 1848 he returned to New York where he dissolved the partnership with John Wiley and established "G. Putnam Broadway," publishing a variety of works including quality illustrated books.

In 1852, with the assistance of George William Curtis

George William Curtis

George William Curtis was an American writer and public speaker, born in Providence, Rhode Island, of old New England stock.-Biography:...

 and other partners, he founded Putnam's Magazine

Putnam's Magazine

Putnam’s Monthly Magazine of American Literature, Science and Art was a monthly periodical published by G. P. Putnam's Sons featuring American literature and articles on science, art, and politics...

. It operated until 1856, resumed in 1868, and finally merged with Scribner's Monthly. His company was the official publisher to the 1853 New York World's Fair.

George Putnam published the books of many classic American authors including his close friend Washington Irving

Washington Irving

Washington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...

, William Cullen Bryant

William Cullen Bryant

William Cullen Bryant was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post.-Youth and education:...

, James Fenimore Cooper

James Fenimore Cooper

James Fenimore Cooper was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. He is best remembered as a novelist who wrote numerous sea-stories and the historical novels known as the Leatherstocking Tales, featuring frontiersman Natty Bumppo...

, and Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...

. He served as secretary for the Publishers' Association for many years and was an advocate of the creation of International Copyright Law

Copyright

Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...

. During the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, he participated in the Loyal Publication Society

Loyal Publication Society

The Loyal Publication Society was founded in 1863, during a time when the Union Army had suffered many reverses in the Civil War. The purpose of the society was to bolster public support for the Union effort, by disseminating pro-Union news articles and editorials to newspapers around the...

 of New York, and suspended his business for three years (1863-1866) to become the United States government's Collector of Internal Revenue

Internal Revenue Service

The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...

 in New York City.

An important member of the New York artistic community, Putnam was the leading publisher of art books in his time and became one of the founders of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...

 and served as honorary superintendent in 1872. He was also chairman of the Committee on Art at the Vienna Universal Exposition

Weltausstellung 1873 Wien

]The Weltausstellung 1873 Wien was the large World exposition was held in 1873 in the Austria–Hungarian capital of Vienna. Its motto was Kultur und Erziehung ....

. He is believed to have been the first publisher to offer "royalties

Royalties

Royalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...

" to authors like Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Elizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the most prominent poets of the Victorian era. Her poetry was widely popular in both England and the United States during her lifetime. A collection of her last poems was published by her husband, Robert Browning, shortly after her death.-Early life:Members...

 and Thomas Carlyle

Thomas Carlyle

Thomas Carlyle was a Scottish satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher during the Victorian era.He called economics "the dismal science", wrote articles for the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, and became a controversial social commentator.Coming from a strict Calvinist family, Carlyle was...

.

Family

George Putnam married Victorine Haven. Their daughter, Mary Corinna Putnam

Mary Corinna Putnam Jacobi

Mary Corinna Putnam was an American physician, writer, and suffragist who was the first woman to become a member of the Faculté de Médecine de Paris.-Biography:...

 (1842-1906) was the first woman to become a member of the Academy of Medicine and one of their sons, Herbert Putnam

Herbert Putnam

Herbert Putnam was an American lawyer, publisher, and librarian. He was the eighth Librarian of the United States Congress from 1899 to 1939.-Biography:...

 (1861-1955), became a noted librarian who served as the United States Librarian of Congress.

On Putnam's death in 1872 his sons George

George Haven Putnam

George Haven Putnam, A.M., Litt.D. was an American soldier, publisher, and author. He married classical scholar Emily James Smith Putnam...

, John

John Bishop Putnam

John Bishop Putnam was treasurer and a director of the venerable book publishing firm founded by his father, G.P. Putnam & Sons. He was born in Staten Island, New York on July 17, 1849 to George Palmer and Mrs. Victorine Haven Putnam, a year after his father founded the firm...

 and Irving inherited the business and the firm's name was changed to G. P. Putnam's Sons

G. P. Putnam's Sons

G. P. Putnam's Sons was a major United States book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group.-History:...

. George Putnam published his father's memoirs in 1912 and in 2000, his life's story was told again under the title George Palmer Putnam - Representative American Publisher by Ezra Greenspan, Associate Professor of English at the University of South Carolina

University of South Carolina

The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...

.

George Palmer Putnam's grandson and namesake, George P. Putnam

George P. Putnam

George Palmer Putnam was an American publisher, author and explorer. Known for his marriage to and being the widower of Amelia Earhart, he had also achieved fame as one of the most successful promoters in the United States during the 1930s.-Early life:Born in Rye, New York, he was the son of John...

 (1887-1950), was part of the family business but was also an author and explorer who was married to the famous aviatrix, Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart

Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...

. His granddaughter Brenda Putnam

Brenda Putnam

Brenda Putnam Noted American sculptor and author. Born into a well connected family, she was the daughter of Herbert Putnam and granddaughter of George Palmer Putnam.Her work can be seen at Syracuse University's Carnegie Library....

was a well-respected sculptor and author.

Works

• Chronology, or an Introduction and Index to Universal History, Biography, and Useful Knowledge (1833)
• A Plea for International Copyright (1837)
• The Tourists in Europe (1838)
• American Book Circular with Notes and Statistics (1843)
• American Facts, Notes and Statistics Relative to the Government of the United States (1845)
• The World's Progress — a Dictionary of Dates (1850)
• Ten Years of the World's Progress, a supplement to his 1850 work (1861)

External links