Dent was born in Darlington in what is now part of the Grade II listed Britannia Inn.[1] After a short and unsuccessful stint as an apprentice printer he took up bookbinding. At the age of fifteen he gave a talk on James Boswell's Life of Johnson which would be the first book printed in the Everyman's Library.
CareerEdit
Title page of a book published by J. M. Dent & Sons
In 1888 he founded the publishing firm of J. M. Dent and Company (it became J. M. Dent & Sons in 1909). Between 1889 and 1894 Dent published the works of Charles Lamb, Oliver Goldsmith, Jane Austen, Chaucer, Tennyson, and like authors. Printed in small runs on handmade paper, these early editions enjoyed modest commercial success. Dent established the highly successful Temple Shakespeare series in 1894.[2] Around 1896 he began publishing high-quality limited editions of literary classics in the Temple Classics series.[3]
In 1904, Dent began to plan Everyman's Library, a series of one thousand classics to be published in an attractive format and sold at one shilling. To meet demand, Dent built the Temple Press in Letchworth recently founded as the first Garden City. The publication of the Everyman Library began in 1906 and 152 titles were issued by the end of the first year. However, it was soon confronted by a double blow: the Copyright Act 1911 which extended protection to fifty years after the author's death thus reducing the availability of Victorian texts, and World War I which brought with it inflation and shortages of supplies.
In A Sinking Island, Hugh Kenner wrote: "Destiny beckoned J. M. Dent toward the kingdom of books, and without ever learning to spell he became an influential bookman. He was small, lame, tight-fisted, and apt to weep under pressure, a performance that could disconcert authors and employees. When his temper had risen like a flame he'd scream; the scream, one employee recalled, was what broke men's spirits. His paroxysms were famous; a Swedish specialist thought of prescribing a pail of cold water for Dent to plunge his head into. For editing the Library he paid Ernest Rhys three guineas a volume—what senior office-boys might earn in two weeks. Dent's ungovernable passion was for bringing Books to the People. He remembered when he'd longed to buy books he couldn't afford. Yes, you could make the world better. He even thought cheap books might prevent wars."[4]
Although not a new idea, what set Everyman's apart from earlier series was its scope; Dent planned for no less than one thousand volumes. He was able to build a new factory and offices in Covent Garden with the profits.[5] Despite having an impressive range of literature, Dent prevented classics of dubious morals, such as Moll Flanders, from being printed. The First World War slowed the production of books and Dent did not live to see the one thousand volume mark reached in 1956.
Among the impressive volumes that came from Dent was The Pilgrim's Regress, the spiritual autobiography of C. S. Lewis, published in 1933.
Later yearsEdit
J. M. Dent, his sons Hugh and Jack, and Jack's son F. J. Martin Dent, constituted the board of directors in the 1920s. Hugh Dent joined the firm in 1909 and functioned as an editor for Everyman's Library; Jack joined the firm in 1915 and supervised the Temple Press; F. J. Martin Dent came in 1924 and directed the production department. After J. M. Dent's death, W. G. Taylor, the secretary of the firm since 1916, joined the board. Hugh R. Dent served as the chairman from 1926 to 1938, followed by Taylor from 1938 to 1963. Taylor was also managing director from 1934 to 1955. F. J. Martin Dent followed Taylor as managing director and chairman. Weidenfeld & Nicolson purchased J. M. Dent & Sons in January 1988.[6] It now forms an imprint of the Orion Publishing Group. The registered companies of J. M. Dent & Sons and Everyman's Library were retained by the Dent family and are now, respectively, an investment company, Malaby Holdings Ltd, and Malaby Martin Ltd, a niche development company. A new sister company Malaby Biogas Ltd was created in 2009 as a pioneering renewable energy and sustainable development business.
ReferencesEdit
^(PDF). Darlington Town Centre Management. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 July 2011.
^The Temple Shakespeare (J. M. Dent) - Book Series List, publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
^"Temple Classics". A Series of Series. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
^"Bedford Street and Chandos Place Area: Bedford Street Pages 253-263 Survey of London: Volume 36, Covent Garden". British History Online. LCC 1970. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
J. M. and Hugh R. Dent, The House of Dent 1888-1938: being the memoirs of J. M. Dent with additional chapters covering the last 16 years by Hugh R Dent, London: J. M. Dent, 1938.
Ernest Rhys, Everyman Remembers, London: J. M. Dent and Sons Limited, 1931; New York: Cosmopolitan Book Corporation, 1931.
J. M. Dent & Sons Records, 1834-1986, unc.edu. "Archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill".
October 24, 2023
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources J M Dent news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message Joseph Malaby Dent 30 August 1849 9 May 1926 was a British book publisher who produced the Everyman s Library series In The Sketch 16 March 1898 Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Later years 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksEarly life EditDent was born in Darlington in what is now part of the Grade II listed Britannia Inn 1 After a short and unsuccessful stint as an apprentice printer he took up bookbinding At the age of fifteen he gave a talk on James Boswell s Life of Johnson which would be the first book printed in the Everyman s Library Career Edit nbsp Title page of a book published by J M Dent amp SonsIn 1888 he founded the publishing firm of J M Dent and Company it became J M Dent amp Sons in 1909 Between 1889 and 1894 Dent published the works of Charles Lamb Oliver Goldsmith Jane Austen Chaucer Tennyson and like authors Printed in small runs on handmade paper these early editions enjoyed modest commercial success Dent established the highly successful Temple Shakespeare series in 1894 2 Around 1896 he began publishing high quality limited editions of literary classics in the Temple Classics series 3 In 1904 Dent began to plan Everyman s Library a series of one thousand classics to be published in an attractive format and sold at one shilling To meet demand Dent built the Temple Press in Letchworth recently founded as the first Garden City The publication of the Everyman Library began in 1906 and 152 titles were issued by the end of the first year However it was soon confronted by a double blow the Copyright Act 1911 which extended protection to fifty years after the author s death thus reducing the availability of Victorian texts and World War I which brought with it inflation and shortages of supplies In A Sinking Island Hugh Kenner wrote Destiny beckoned J M Dent toward the kingdom of books and without ever learning to spell he became an influential bookman He was small lame tight fisted and apt to weep under pressure a performance that could disconcert authors and employees When his temper had risen like a flame he d scream the scream one employee recalled was what broke men s spirits His paroxysms were famous a Swedish specialist thought of prescribing a pail of cold water for Dent to plunge his head into For editing the Library he paid Ernest Rhys three guineas a volume what senior office boys might earn in two weeks Dent s ungovernable passion was for bringing Books to the People He remembered when he d longed to buy books he couldn t afford Yes you could make the world better He even thought cheap books might prevent wars 4 Although not a new idea what set Everyman s apart from earlier series was its scope Dent planned for no less than one thousand volumes He was able to build a new factory and offices in Covent Garden with the profits 5 Despite having an impressive range of literature Dent prevented classics of dubious morals such as Moll Flanders from being printed The First World War slowed the production of books and Dent did not live to see the one thousand volume mark reached in 1956 Among the impressive volumes that came from Dent was The Pilgrim s Regress the spiritual autobiography of C S Lewis published in 1933 Later years EditJ M Dent his sons Hugh and Jack and Jack s son F J Martin Dent constituted the board of directors in the 1920s Hugh Dent joined the firm in 1909 and functioned as an editor for Everyman s Library Jack joined the firm in 1915 and supervised the Temple Press F J Martin Dent came in 1924 and directed the production department After J M Dent s death W G Taylor the secretary of the firm since 1916 joined the board Hugh R Dent served as the chairman from 1926 to 1938 followed by Taylor from 1938 to 1963 Taylor was also managing director from 1934 to 1955 F J Martin Dent followed Taylor as managing director and chairman Weidenfeld amp Nicolson purchased J M Dent amp Sons in January 1988 6 It now forms an imprint of the Orion Publishing Group The registered companies of J M Dent amp Sons and Everyman s Library were retained by the Dent family and are now respectively an investment company Malaby Holdings Ltd and Malaby Martin Ltd a niche development company A new sister company Malaby Biogas Ltd was created in 2009 as a pioneering renewable energy and sustainable development business References Edit The Trail PDF Darlington Town Centre Management 2011 Archived from the original PDF on 20 July 2011 The Temple Shakespeare J M Dent Book Series List publishinghistory com Retrieved 30 March 2017 Temple Classics A Series of Series Retrieved 9 March 2017 New York Times Book Review February 28 1988 Bedford Street and Chandos Place Area Bedford Street Pages 253 263 Survey of London Volume 36 Covent Garden British History Online LCC 1970 Retrieved 7 April 2023 J M Dent and Sons Library of the University of North Carolina Further reading EditJ M and Hugh R Dent The House of Dent 1888 1938 being the memoirs of J M Dent with additional chapters covering the last 16 years by Hugh R Dent London J M Dent 1938 Ernest Rhys Everyman Remembers London J M Dent and Sons Limited 1931 New York Cosmopolitan Book Corporation 1931 External links EditWorks published by Dent at Internet Archive J M Dent amp Sons Records 1834 1986 unc edu Archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title J M Dent amp oldid 1178503826, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
