Angus & Robertson

Angus & Robertson (A&R) is a major Australian bookseller, publisher and printer. As book publishers, A&R has contributed substantially to the promotion and development of Australian literature.Alison, Jennifer (2001). "Publishers and editors: Angus & Robertson, 1888–1945". In: The History of the Book in Australia 1891–1945. (Edited by Martyn Lyons & John Arnold), pp. 27–36. St Lucia: University of Queensland Press.Alison, Jennifer (2009). Doing Something for Australia: George Robertson and the early years of Angus & Robertson, Publishers, 1888–1900. Bibliographical Society of Australia and New Zealand Occasional Publication no 9.Barker, A. W. (editor) (1982). Dear Robertson: Letters to an Australian publisher. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. .Kent, Jacqueline (2002). A Certain Style: Beatrice Davis, a Literary Life. Melbourne: Penguin Books. . Davis was the senior editor at A&R for many years. The brand currently exists as an online shop operated by Booktopia Direct Pty Ltd. The Angus & Robertson imprint is still used by HarperCollins, which has published books under the imprint since 1989.

Bookselling history

The first bookstore was opened in 110½ Market Street, Sydney by Scotsman David Mackenzie Angus (1855–1901) in 1884; it initially sold only secondhand books. In January 1886, Angus went into partnership with fellow Scot George Robertson (not to be confused with his older contemporary, George Robertson, the Melbourne bookseller and publisher, who later traded as Robertson & Mullens). In 1900, Angus, plagued by ill health, retired from the partnership to England, where he died soon after. Frederick Wymark took over a large portion of Angus's share in the company.

In 1895, the company moved to 89 Castlereagh Street, Sydney. The head office of the firm was at Castlereagh Street until the 1950s. The shop was known as the "biggest bookshop in the world". In 1907 the partnership was converted into a public company: Angus & Robertson Limited. In 1951 a store was established in High Commission of Australia, London, which operated until the 1970s.

In the 1950s, Angus & Robertson began the growth which led it to become Australia's first nationwide chain of bookstores. In the mid-1970s the main A&R bookstore was located at 207-209 Pitt Street and occupied several floors."Angus&Robertson year-end sellout", The Sydney Morning Herald, 1 January 1974, p. 3. In 1977, it opened its first franchise store in the southern Sydney suburb of Hurstville. In 2006, the company had over 170 stores spread throughout the country, and it claimed that it had more than twice as many stores as Australia's next largest bookseller. The firm had about 18% share in the Australian book retail market.Pacific Equity Partners In 2008 the largest Angus & Robertson bookstore was located at 168-174 Pitt Street Mall (in the ground floor level of the Imperial Arcade), Sydney.Marc Llewellyn and Lee Mylne, Australia, Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2008. p. 168. Retrieved 30 April 2022.Angus & Robertson - Sydney CBD (Pitt Street Mall), librarything.com. Retrieved 30 April 2022.

George Robertson encouraged book collector David Scott Mitchell to convert to collecting in the then-neglected field of Australian literature. Mitchell accumulated a large collection (many bought from A&R), which ultimately formed the basis of the Mitchell Library of the State Library of New South Wales. George Robertson also encouraged businessman and collector William Dixson to collect Australian books and art. His collection ultimately formed the Dixson Library of the State Library of New South Wales.

In 2011, it closed all physical stores and became an online-only book retailer after 125 years of existence.

Publishing history Angus & Robertson began publishing in 1888. Their first work was a book of verse, A Crown of Wattle, written by a Sydney solicitor, H. Peden Steel. From the early years of publishing to 1900, Angus & Robertson developed a highly successful and profitable marketing formula and mix of products: a mixture of literary publishing together with educational publishing, plus active marketing by distributing large numbers of review copies. They also published valuable reference works, including the Australian Encyclopaedia, John Alexander Ferguson's multi-volume Bibliography of Australia, and the early years of Art in Australia. In 1938 A&R opened a publishing office in London.

As a publisher, Angus & Robertson has played a substantial role in shaping Australian literature by publishing, to huge sales, works by popular Australian authors such as Banjo Paterson, Henry Lawson, C. J. Dennis, Norman Lindsay, Frank Clune, Ion Idriess, Will H. Ogilvie, Colin Simpson, Arthur Upfield, Frank Dalby Davison, E. V. Timms, and children's writers Dorothy Wall and May Gibbs.

George Robertson died in 1933, and he was succeeded as publisher by Walter Cousins (to 1948) and George Ferguson (to 1971).Ferguson, George & James, Neil (2006). "Flagship Angus & Robertson". In, Paper Empires: A History of the Book in Australia, 1946-2005 (Craig Munro & Robyn Sheahan-Bright, editors), pp 10-12. Brisbane: University of Queensland Press.

Book series Book series (chronological order of publication)

Australian School Series (1890s)Angus & Robertson's School Series - Book Series List, publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 26 April 2022. The Snowy River Series (1898)Victor J. Daley, At Dawn and Dusk, worldcat.org. Retrieved 30 October 2023. Commonwealth Series ()Henry Lawson, Humorous Verses, Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1900, publisher's advertisements, p. 2. Retrieved 26 April 2022.Victor J. Daley, At Dawn and Dusk, worldcat.org. Retrieved 30 October 2023. Commonwealth Manual Training Series ()Teacher's Manual of Cardboard Work, worldcat.org. Retrieved 30 October 2023. Australian Military Handbooks (1915–1945) se:Australian Military Handbooks, worldcat.org. Retrieved 30 October 2023. Platypus Series (1923–)se:Platypus Series, worldcat.org. Retrieved 11 October 2023. Mining and Prospecting series (1931–67) Australian Guerilla series (1942–43)The Australian Guerrilla Series, idriess.info. Retrieved 26 April 2022. Battle for Australia Seriesse:Battle for Australia Series, worldcat.org. Retrieved 11 October 2023. Junior Library of Australian Books (1949- )The Junior Library of Australian Books, worldcat.org. Retrieved 7 October 2023. Blue Wren Books (1951– ) Australian Poets (1963)Australian Poets, worldcat.org. Retrieved 30 October 2023. Sirius Books (1963–65)Sirius Books, austlit.edu.au. Retrieved 26 April 2022. Australian Classics (1968–91; 2013- )Australian Classics (Angus & Robertson) - Book Series List, publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 26 April 2022. Young Australia Series (1970– )Young Australia Series + Angus & Robertson, worldcat.org. Retrieved 1 September 2023. Arkon Paperbacks (1972–85)Arkon Paperbacks (Angus & Robertson) - Book Series List, publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 26 April 2022. Australian Natural Science Libraryse:Australian Natural Science Library, worldcat.org. Retrieved 11 October 2023. A&R Classics (1973– )"A&R Classics", worldcat.org. Retrieved 11 October 2023. A&R Poetry Classics (1975)The colonial poets, worldcat.org. Retrieved 11 October 2023. Australian Literary Heritage Series (1975–86)Australian Literary Heritage Series, worldcat.org. Retrieved 1 September 2023. A&R Non-Fiction Classics (1976–80) A&R Modern Poets (1976–93)A&R Modern Poets, worldcat.org. Retrieved 1 September 2023. A & R Playtexts,se:A & R Playtexts, worldcat.org. Retrieved 16 January 2024. Famous Australian Livesse:Famous Australian Lives, worldcat.org. Retrieved 2 September 2023. Queensland Classic AKA Queensland Classics (1980– )Queensland Classics, worldcat.org. Retrieved 1 September 2023. Sirius Quality Paperbacks (1982–90)se:Sirius Quality Paperbacks, worldcat.org. Retrieved 1 September 2023. Outback Classic (1985)Outback Classic, worldcat.org. Retrieved 1 September 2023. Bluegum series (1987- ) Imprint Classics (1989– )Imprint Classics + Angus & Robertson, worldcat.org. Retrieved 1 September 2023. The Finishing Touch (1993)se:Finishing touch, worldcat.org. Retrieved 5 December 2023. Modern Australian Classics (2014)Due preparations for the plague, worldcat.org. Retrieved 11 October 2023. Pocket Editions for the TrenchesPocket Editions for the Trenches, worldcat.org. Retrieved 11 October 2023.

Imprints Imprints have included Cornstalk Publishing (1924–1930; 1990s),Cornstalk Publishing, austlit.edu.au. Retrieved 26 April 2022. Pacific Books (1961– ),Craig Munro, "Case-study: A&R's Takeover Crisis", in: Craig Munro and Robyn Sheahan-Bright, Paper Empires: A History of the Book in Australia, 1946-2005, University of Queensland Press, 2006. Retrieved 26 April 2022.Pacific Books (Angus & Robertson) - Book Series List, www.publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 1 September 2023. Sirius Books (1979–1989) and Eden Paperbacks (1987– ).Eden Paperbacks, austlit.edu.au. Retrieved 26 April 2022.

Cornstalk Publishing Cornstalk Publishing was established in 1924, "primarily for modest and usually abridged reprints, such as the Gumnut Reader series" by May Gibbs, 'and we are glad that the Cornstalk Publishing Company is making the books available in a cheap and handy form' and ceased in 1929. The publishing history of the imprint was important in the development of Australian children's books, in the era that it operated.

The imprint was notable for the publishing of writers of the era, including children's writer Mary Grant Bruce, and poets C.J. Dennis and Brunton Stephens. Subject areas of the publications included local histories, Christian apologetics, memoirs, bushcraft, and travel.

Although separate, the Angus and Robertson 'Platypus Series' coincided at times with the imprint.

Cornstalk published the first novel of Ion Idriess, Madman's Island.

The imprint was revived by Angus and Robertson in the 1980s and 1990s, publishing reprints including Annie Rentoul's The Lady of the Blue Beads and The Muddle-Headed Wombat on Clean-Up Day by Ruth Park.

Printing history To better control printing costs, and maintain a consistent quality, George Robertson bought a printing company Eagle Press in 1929, and renamed it Halstead Press (after his birthplace in Essex). Printing thus became the third tier of the Angus & Robertson business. It was Australia's leading book printer for forty years. However, the printing presses had become antiquated by the 1970s. After a corporate takeover, the printing presses were sold to John Sands. Halstead became a publishing imprint, Robertson's great-grandson having acquired the logo and identity. These he passed on to the present company, Halstead Press, when it was set up in 1991.

The Sydney Book Club About 1895 or 1896, George Robertson started The Sydney Book Club (SBC), based on the principles of a lending library. It evolved out of the actions of a group of legal men who bought 100 books for reading among themselves, then sold the books back to A&R. The SBC was a great success and highly profitable, as the same book could be borrowed by post and returned many times. Fifty to 100 copies of A&R bestsellers were often available for loan. The SBC had a vast membership throughout Australia, particularly in remote rural areas. It closed in 1958, as space was no longer available because of expansion of retail trade. Also, the rapid expansion of local government libraries throughout Australia offered a more localized and free service.The Sydney Book Club. Fragment [Angus & Robertson house magazine], no 11, p. 6 (June 1959).

Support for literary societies and authors