Grant Richards was a small British publishing house founded in 1897 by the writer Grant Richards.
Significant publications from the company's first incorporation were George Bernard Shaw's Plays Pleasant and Unpleasant and A. E. Housman's A Shropshire Lad, as well as books by G. K. Chesterton, Saki, Arnold Bennett, Samuel Butler, and Ernest Bramah.
In 1897, the Grant Richards publishing house began publishing the Dumpy Books for Children series of small format books for children.
In 1901, the publishing house launched The World's Classics, a reprint series of out of copyright literary classics."World's Classics", in: Dinah Birch, ed., The Oxford Companion to English Literature, Oxford University Press, 2009, 7th edition (online edition). Retrieved 20 April 2019. In 1905, the series was acquired by Henry Frowde of Oxford University Press, which continues to publish the series as Oxford World's Classics.Susan Pickford, "World’s Classics", in: Michael F. Suarez, S.J. and H. R. Woudhuysen, eds., The Oxford Companion to the Book, Oxford University Press, 2010 (online edition). Retrieved 20 April 2019.
Richards declared bankruptcy in 1905. He reorganised and continued to run the firm, publishing first under the name of E. Grant Richards (which included the initial of his wife's first name) and then under the name of Grant Richards Ltd. In these years the firm published works by John Galsworthy, Royall Tyler, James Joyce,Grant Richards: First Edition Identification and Publisher Information, biblio.com. Retrieved 22 April 2019. Robert Tressell, John Masefield, and Jack Kahane.
In 1926, when Richards declared bankruptcy a second time, the firm was renamed as the Richards Press. In 1937, the firm was bought by Martin Secker.John Trevitt, "Secker, Martin (formerly Percy Martin Secker Klingender)(1882–1978)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2019 (online edition). Retrieved 22 April 2019. It was subsequently bought by John Baker and finally by A & C Black.
Book series The Children's Library"Grant Richards" + "Children's Library", worldcat.org. Retrieved 20 November 2024. The Dumpy Books for Children Ethics of the Surface Series Grant Allen's Historical GuidesGrant Allen's Historical Guides (Grant Richards) - Book Series List, publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 17 June 2019. How To series"The World's Classics; or, Bound Books for the Million", in The Review of Reviews, vol. 24, 1901, p. 546. Retrieved 22 May 2025. The Larger Dumpy Books for Childrense:Larger dumpy books for children, worldcat.org. Retrieved 20 November 2024. Omar SeriesOmar Series, seriesofseries.com. Retrieved 17 June 2019. The Russian Library Smaller Classics Series The Sylvan Series The World's ClassicsWorld’s Classics, seriesofseries.com. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
References