Little, Brown and Company had its roots in the book selling trade. It was founded in 1837 in Boston by Charles Little and James Brown.[1][2] They formed the partnership "for the purpose of Publishing, Importing, and Selling Books".[1] It can trace its roots before that to 1784 to a bookshop owned by Ebenezer Battelle on Marlborough Street.[1] They published works of Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, and specialized in legal publishing and importing titles.[3]
The firm was the original publisher of United States Statutes at Large beginning in 1845, under authority granted by a joint resolution of Congress. In 1874, Congress transferred the authority to publish the Statutes at Large to the Government Printing Office, which has been responsible for producing the set since that time.[5]1 U.S.C.§ 113 still recognizes their edition of the laws and treaties of the United States are competent evidence of the several public and private Acts of Congress, treaties, and international agreements other than treaties of the United States.
In 1853, Little, Brown began publishing the works of British poets from Chaucer to Wordsworth. Ninety-six volumes were published in the series in five years.[6]
In 1859, John Bartlett became a partner in the firm. He held the rights to his Familiar Quotations, and Little, Brown published the 15th edition of the work in 1980, 125 years after its first publication. John Murray Brown, James Brown's son, took over when Augustus Flagg retired in 1884. In the 1890s, Little, Brown expanded into general publishing, including fiction. In 1896, it published Quo Vadis. In 1898, Little, Brown purchased a list of titles from the Roberts Brothers firm.[6] 19th century employees included Charles Carroll Soule.[7]
The company was purchased by Time Inc. in 1968.[6] Little, Brown acquired the medical publisher College Hill Press in 1986.[9] Little, Brown was made part of the Time Warner Book Group when Time merged with Warner Communications to form Time Warner in 1989. In 2001, all editing staff moved from Boston to Time Warner Book Group offices in New York City.[10]
21st century
In 2001, Michael Pietsch became publisher of Little, Brown.
In 2006, the Time Warner Book Group was sold to French publisher Hachette Livre. Following this, the Little, Brown imprint is used by Hachette Livre's U.S. publishing company, Hachette Book Group USA.
In 2011, Little, Brown launched an imprint devoted to suspense publishing: Mulholland Books.[12]
In February 2013, after Pietsch had risen to CEO of Hachette Book Group, Reagan Arthur was selected to be publisher of Little, Brown, while closing her five-year-old imprint, Reagan Arthur Books.[13]
In October 2017, Little, Brown started an unnamed imprint devoted to health, lifestyle, psychology, and science with the appointment of Tracy Behar as the imprint's vice president, publisher, and editor-in-chief.[14] The imprint Little, Brown Spark launched in fall 2018[15] and has published authors such as Mark Hyman, Tricia Hersey, and Sue Johnson.
^Mehegan, David (January 26, 2002). "LITTLE, BROWN SHRINKING AGAIN: [THIRD Edition]". Boston Globe; Boston, Mass. Boston, Mass., United States, Boston, Mass. pp. –1. ISSN0743-1791. ProQuest405447754.
Little, Brown and Company, One Hundred Years of Publishing, 1837-1937. Boston, MA: Little, Brown & Co.
Oliver, Bill (1986), "Little, Brown and Company", in Peter Dzwonkonski (ed.), Dictionary of Literary Biography - Volume Forty-nine - American Literary Publishing Houses, 1638–1899 Part 1: A–M. Detroit, MI: Gale Research Company.