The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1866-03-23
The House OF ricknor : rields.


Mr.. William D. Ticknor, one of the
original partners Of the present house
of Tioknor & Fields, was born in Leba-
non, New Hampshire, 10 1910. He
came to Boston when about fifteen
years old, and joined an uncle who was
broker. Eight years later, in 1888,
he associated himself with Mr.. Allen,
and succeeded to the business and
stand of the book publishing house of
Carter ~ Hendee Mr.. Longfellow
was one of the authors with whom they
earliest formed a connection and the
first Of his independent publications
wag issued by them in 1888.
Mr.. Allen retired from the firm in
1887, and the business was conducted
by Mr.. Ticknor alone until 1874, and
subsequently in partnership with Mr..
Reed, the son of a former Lieutenant
Governor of Massachusetts,, and Mr..
Fields, who had been in the employ of
Carter & Hendee, and who is now at the
head oi the house. In 1854 Mr.. Reed
retired, and the present style of Ticknor
q Fields was assumed No further
change took place until Mr. Ticknor's
death at Philadelphia, in April, 1864,
while on his way to Cuba with Mr..
Hawthorne, when Mr. Fields associated
with himself Mr. Howard NJ. Tcknor,
who retained his fathers interest in
the establishment, and Mr.. James l..
Osgood, who had been employed as a
clerk. On the first of January, 1866,
John Spencer Clark, long clerk, was
also admitted into the partnership.
A comparison of the issues of the house
in 1855 with those in 1865, shows that
ten years ago their list embraced only
about seventy-fve authors, or in all $50
volumes, while their present catalogue
covers over two hundred authors, and
embraces between six hundred and
seven hundred volumes. OF their
catalogue, q per cent is novels,
ETC., % per cent. poetry and the drama,
Is per cent. criticism, essays, etc, and
ii per cent. history, personal recollec-
tions, and biography. In the year 1856
they began the issue of the blue and
gold editions, now numbering forty six
volumes, and whose aggregate sales
foot up almost half million. 1t is
found that the circulation of popular
poets is from three to FIVE times greater
in this shape than in other styles.
Longfellow heads the list, followed by
Tennyson, after whom come Whittier,
Holmes, SAKE, and Lowell Two years
ago they began to issue the same series
On larger paper, calling it cabinet
edition, of which tweDt ty eight volumes
have been published They have also
begun a series, consisting of selections
from the poets of their list, called
Companion Poets, in little square
volumes, with illustrations on wood.
This house also controls four periodi,
Gals: The North American Review; The
Atlantic Monthly, which passed to the
present proprietors in 1859, and now
has a circulation of about $4,000, with
a steady increase; Our Young Folks, a
juvenile magazine; and Every Satur-
day, a weekly compiled from the Eng
lish monthlies.
The catalogue of the house is confin-
ed almost entirely to contemporary
writers. AS before stated, LongfelloW's
earliest volume was published by them,
and finally his whole literary property,
except "The Poets and Poetry of Eu-
rope, was confded to them. at an
early day Lowell transferred HE poems
from Cambridge to them, and Haw-
thorne was closely connected with them
until his death. Oliver Wendell Holmes
intrusted to them, in lS4S, the publica-
ton of his poems, which they have
found among the most saleable on their
list, sometime two and even three edi-
tions having been issued in year
Emerson, Whittier, George S. Hillard,
Mrs. Stowe, and Aldrioh have at differ
ent times gone over to them.
The earliest connection with forS
eign writer was with Tennyson, whose
poems they published in 1912 In 1851
they began the issue of the works of
De Quincy, whom Mr. Fields had met
while in England, and the first, and as
yet the most complete, edition of his
writings is that made by them. Barry
Cornwall's connection also dates back
to the same time Among the names
OF the authors on their catalogue are
Mrs. Jameson, Charles Reade, Leigh
Hunt, the Kingsleys, Msyne Reed,
Matthew Arnold, Miss Mulock, and
Owen Meredith.