| Status | Defunct (1946) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1929 (1929) |
| Founder | |
| Successor | Rinehart & Company |
| Headquarters location | New York City, U.S. |
| Publication types | Books |
Farrar & Rinehart (1929–1946) was a United States book publishing company founded in New York. Farrar & Rinehart enjoyed success with both non-fiction and novels, notably, the landmarkRivers of America Series and the first ten books in theNero Wolfe corpus ofRex Stout. In 1943 the company was recognized with the first Carey-Thomas Award for creative publishing presented byPublishers Weekly.
Farrar & Rinehart was founded in June 1929 byJohn C. Farrar (vice president) andStanley M. Rinehart, Jr. (president), in partnership withFrederick R. Rinehart. In forming the company, Farrar and the Rineharts left the massiveDoubleday, Doran publishing house, the result of a merger between their mutual employer, theGeorge H. Doran Company, withDoubleday, Page & Company in 1927. Both Stanley and Fredrick were the sons of the famous playwright and author,Mary Roberts Rinehart. Mary Roberts Rinehart supported her sons and their company by leaving Doubleday, Doran; her bestselling mysteries became a mainstay of the new imprint.
"We will never grow so large that all members of the firm cannot read and be interested in any book we publish," Farrar said. "While we believe in applying journalistic methods to publishing we feel that ... there is a need for literature that is written in quiet places and that is brought to the public with dignity."[1]
During the early summer of 1929, Farrar & Rinehart designed and distributed its first promotional piece, the first cannon in what they hoped to be a successful advertising campaign for the bookSpeculation: The Wall Street Gamebook.[2] Published in October, the month of the stock-market crash, it was a complete failure.[3]
In 1931, Farrar & Rinehart acquired the Cosmopolitan Book Corporation fromHearst.[4] Farrar & Rinehart became one of the most successful publishing houses of its era. Its bestsellers included Hervey Allen'sAnthony Adverse (1933), which sold more than two million hardcover copies.[5]
In February 1943, Farrar & Rinehart received the first Carey-Thomas Award for creative publishing fromPublishers Weekly. Named for U.S. publishersMathew Carey andIsaiah Thomas, the award recognized good publishing — "the creative idea, cooperation with the writer, careful production and imagination and successful marketing." The Manhattan publisher won the award for seven volumes of theRivers of America Series, which was found to be "the best example of creative publishing in the year 1942."[6]
In 1946, Farrar departed for a new venture withRoger Straus, a firm that becameFarrar, Straus & Giroux. Farrar & Rinehart was renamedRinehart & Company.
Dates are the earliest and latest known years of association with Farrar & Rinehart.[7]
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