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Doubleday's
century of publishing began in 1897 when Frank Nelson Doubleday,
with remarkable confidence, and a back loan of five thousand dollars,
founded Doubleday &McClure Company in partnership with magazine
publisher Samuel McClure. Among their first bestsellers was A Day's
Work by Rudyard Kipling. While the alliance between Doubleday and
McClure lasted only three years, a long and profitable friendship
grew between Doubleday and Kipling, who, using Doubleday's initials,
"F.N.D.," nicknamed him "effendi," the Turkish word for "chief";
this name remained with Doubleday for his entire career.
In
1900 the company became Doubleday, Page & Company when Walter Hines
Page joined as a new partner. He was a strong coleader until his
appointment as U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James in 1913.
The founder's son, Nelson Doubleday, joined the firm in 1922. Doubleday
merged with George H. Doran Company in 1927, making Doubleday, Doran
the largest publishing concern in the English-speaking world. The
business became known as Doubleday & Company in 1946. Anchor Books
created by Jason Epstein in 1953, was the first line of distinguished
trade paperback books in the industry. Shortly thereafter a Catholic
publishing program was started by John Delaney. By 1955 the program
had expanded to cover other religions, which soon led to the Image
line of trade paperbacks. This program is still growing today. The
Nan A. Talese imprint was formed in 1990, two years after she joined
Doubleday, bringing with her a distinguished list of authors.
Doubleday
was sold to Bertelsmann, AG, a Germany-based worldwide communications
company in 1986. In 1988 it became part of the Bantam Doubleday
Dell Publishing Group which went on to acquire and become a division
of Random House Inc. in 1998.
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