A & C Black is a British book publishing company, owned since 2002 byBloomsbury Publishing. The company is noted for publishingWho's Who since 1849 and theEncyclopædia Britannica between 1827 and 1903.[1][2] It offers a wide variety of books in fiction and nonfiction, and has published popular travel guides, novels, and science books.
| Parent company | Bloomsbury Publishing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1807; 218 years ago (1807) |
| Founder | Adam Black and Charles Black |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Headquarters location | London |
| Publication types | Books |
| Nonfiction topics | Reference |
History
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The firm was founded in 1807 by Charles andAdam Black inEdinburgh.[1] In 1851, the company purchased the copyrights toSir Walter Scott'sWaverly novels for £27,000.[1] The company moved to theSoho district ofLondon in 1889.[3]
During the years 1827–1903 the firm published the seventh, eighth and ninth editions of theEncyclopædia Britannica. This was purchased fromArchibald Constable after his company's failure to publish the seventh edition of the encyclopedia.[4] Adam Black retired in 1870 due to his disapproval of his sons' extravagant plans for its ninth edition.[4] This edition, however, would sell half a million sets and was released in 24 volumes from 1875 to 1889.[4]
Beginning in 1839, the firm published a series of travel guides known asBlack's Guides.
The company was the publisher of the annualWho's Who (since 1849[2]) and also, since 2002, theWhitaker's Almanack. Other notable works includeBlack's Medical Dictionary and theKnow The Game series of sports rules and laws reference books.[5]
The firm also published theA. & C. Black Colour Books: Twenty Shilling Series (1901–21),[6] a "range of high-quality colour collectable picture books"[7] which are still collected by bibliophiles.[8]
In 1902 they publishedP. G. Wodehouse's first book,The Pothunters, and went on to produce many of his early works.
In 1989 A & C Black purchased both Christopher Helm Publishers and later the Pica Press, publishers of theHelm Identification Guides, fromChristopher Helm.[9]
In 2000 A & C Black was purchased byBloomsbury Publishing Plc, which continued producing the former's range ofreference works.[10]
In June 2002,T. & A. D. Poyser and their back-list of around 70ornithology titles were acquired fromElsevier Science.
A & C Black purchased Methuen Drama fromMethuen Publishing in 2006, and acquiredArden Shakespeare fromCengage Learning in 2008.
In 2016, A & C Black Music list moved to Collins Learning, a division of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
Notable books
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Book series
edit- Black's Atlas of North America, 1856
- Artist's Sketch Book Series
- Ballet Pocket Series (Newman Wolsey; then: A. & C. Black)[11]
- Black's Guides
- Black's Junior Reference Books
- Black's Novel Library[12]
- Black's Popular Series of Colour Books
- Black's School History
- Black's "Water-colour" series
- Colour Books: The 7s. 6d. Net Series
- Colour Books: The 6s. Net Series
- Colour Books: The 10s. Net Series
- Colour Books: The 20s. Net Series
- Dancers of To-day
- Ecclesiastical History of England (General Editor: J. C. Dickinson)
- The Fascination of London[13]
- Guild Text-books
- How-and-Why Series
- Know the Game
- The Making of the Nations[14]
- Peeps at Ancient Civilisations
- Peeps at Great Cities
- Peeps at Great Explorers
- Peeps at Great Men
- Peeps at Great Railways
- Peeps at History
- Peeps at Industries
- Peeps at Many Lands
- Peeps at Nature
- Peeps at Nature for Little Children
- Peeps for Little People
- The Peeps Series (sometimes called: Miscellaneous Peeps series)
- Social Life in England
Imprints
edit- Adlard Coles Nautical
- Arden Shakespeare
- Andrew Brodie Publications
- Featherstone
- Methuen Drama
- T. & A. D. Poyser
- Reeds Almanac
- John Wisden & Co
References
edit- ^abcWard, Arthur (2015).A Guide to War Publications of the First & Second World War: From Training Guides to Propaganda Posters. Barnsley, UK: Pen and Sword.ISBN 978-1-78383-154-8.
- ^abDuckett, Robert John; Walker, Peter; Donnelly, Christinea (2008).Know it All, Find it Fast: An A-Z Source Guide for the Enquiry Desk (3rd ed.). London: Facet Publishing. p. 77.ISBN 978-1-85604-652-7.
- ^Barton, Susan; Brodie, Allan (2016).Travel and Tourism in Britain, 1700–1914 Vol 1. Oxon: Routledge. p. 25.ISBN 978-1-84893-412-2.
- ^abcFinkelstein, David (2007).Edinburgh History of the Book in Scotland, Volume 4: Professionalism and Diversity 1880-2000, Volume 4. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 347.ISBN 978-0-7486-1829-3.
- ^Know The Game, archive.org. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
- ^A. & C. Black Colour Books: Twenty Shilling Series, publishinghistory.com. Retrieved on 16 April 2017.
- ^The History of A&C Black Publishers, archive.org. Retrieved on 16 April 2017.
- ^Cliff Tomaszewski,"A. & C. Black's 20/- Colour Books", Stella and Rose's Books. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
- ^FOB: Firms Out of Business, utexas.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
- ^Gadsby, David (10 November 2013)."Charles Black obituary | Publishing".The Guardian.
- ^Ballet Pocket Series (Newman Wolsey Ltd; then: A. & C. Black) - Book Series List, publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
- ^bibliogroup:Black's Novel Library,Google Books. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
- ^Sir Walter Besant and G. E. Mitton,The Fascination of London: Holburn and Bloomsbury, London: Adam & Charles Black, 1903 (The Fascination of London series), archive.org. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
- ^The Making of the Nations (A. & C. Black) – Book Series List, publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
Further reading
edit- Colin Inman,The A & C Black Colour Books: A Collector's Guide and Bibliography 1900-1930, London: Werner Shaw, 1990.
External links
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- A&C Black – archive.org copy of the site as it was on 15 January 2010.
- History of A&C Black, acblack.com (archive.org copy).
- Bloomsbury Publishing corporate structure
- Bloomsbury Publishing corporate history
- Whitaker's Almanack
- A & C Black Colour Books: Twenty Shilling Series
- Records of A. & C. Black Publishers Ltd,University of Reading
- Recovering Publishing Histories: the Adam & Charles Black Letterbooks