Marzani & Munsell (1955–1967) was an American book publisher of the mid-20th Century, based in Manhattan, which published liberal and leftist books, starting with False Witness by Harvey Matusow.
History
After release from prison in 1951, Carl Marzani joined Cameron Associates and partnered with Angus Cameron to run Liberty Book Club. Marzani & Munsell formed as a book club (in an unclear relationship with Alexander Ector Orr Munsell, "that unusual combination of a practicing Christian and a practicing Marxist" per Carl Marzani, and son and heir of Albert Henry Munsell) and also operated what had become the Library-Prometheus Book Club. Together, the two book clubs, with some 8,000 members, published and distributed many books following their progressive ideology.
In a later interview, Marzani described his publishing house:
In 1959 when Cameron left for at job at Knopf, Marzani became president. Marzani and Munsell publishing house "was destroyed in a mysterious fire" in 1966, ending the run of books, pamphlets, broadsheets and reprints. Marzani later described the loss: "It destroyed our stock, our lists, everything, and we had no insurance."
Alleged espionage According to allegations made in 1994 by Oleg Kalugin, a retired KGB officer, Marzani was a contact for the Soviet secret police agency, the KGB, while running Marzani & Munsell, and the KGB subsidized his publishing house in the 1960s. Allegedly, the amounts were $15,000 in 1960, then a two-year grant in 1961 of $55,000.
Legacy
Tamiment Library at New York University houses papers of Marzani & Munsell, whose principle correspondents include: Angus Cameron (publisher), Herbert Aptheker, Calvin Benham Baldwin (aka "C.B. Baldwin" and "Beanie Baldwin"), Cedric Belfrage, Alvah Bessie, Herbert Biberman, Harry Bridges, E. Berry Burgum, W.E.B. Du Bois, Barrows Dunham, Howard Fast, Royal France, Stefan Heym, Albert E. Kahn, Ring Lardner Jr., Doris Lessing, Walter Lowenfels, Albert Maltz, A.J. Muste, Carey McWilliams (journalist), Truman J. Nelson, Victor Perlo, Edwin B. Smith, Edgar Snow, Joseph R. Starobin, Anna Louise Strong, Harry F. Ward, and Ella Winter.
Titles
1955: False Witness Labor's Untold Story)* 1957: The open Marxism of Antonio Gramsci. With annotations by Marzani. 1959: A visit to Soviet science World without war The doctor business Comrade Venka 1960: Inside the Khrushchev Era The double bed from the feminine side The tragedy of American diplomacy The artist in society The flowers of Hiroshima The Rise of the People's Communes in China The world of C. Wright Mills 1961: The new Germany and the old Nazis Cuba: prophetic island War and peace, and the problem of Berlin The road from Sharpeville Dollars and Sense of Disarmament (1961) Cuba versus CIA 1962: The Era of McCarthyism Originally published as The Negro today The Shelter Hoax and Foreign Policy The political economy of growth The adventurers The military background to disarmament Negroes with Guns China, Russia and the U.S.A. 1963: War and Peace in Vietnam A quarter-century of un-Americana: a tragico-comical memorabilia of HUAC Heusinger of the Fourth Reich The golden fleece: selling the good life to Americans People with strength in Monroe, North Carolina Dragon pink on old white 1964: The mood of the nation (November 22–29, 1963) Oswald: assassin or fall guy? Bitter end in Southeast Asia The Yahoos Goldwater-ism The Goldwater coloring book The Black Anglo-Saxons Soul of the Republic: The Negro Today 1965: The Conscience of the Senate on the Vietnam War (1965) Gideon's Army v. 1. The components of the decision v. 2. The decision and the organization v. 3. The campaign and the vote Prosperity in crisis Peace by finesse A pictorial history of the Jews in the United States Automation Journey to the Soviet Trade Unions Storm the gates of Jericho What to do about Vietnam? 1966: The gaps in the Warren report This material is reprinted from the author's Oswald: assassin or fall guy. Critical reactions to the Warren report Concentration camps USA Harlem stirs German Hand on the Nuclear Trigger The Silent Slaughter Johnson's War
Notable people
Officers Carl Marzani, President
Authors Charles R. Allen Jr. Herbert Aptheker Paul A. Baran J. D. Bernal Baron Blackett Patrick Blackett Phillip Bonosky Richard Owen Boyer Richard Carter Carl Dreher Barrows Dunham Abraham Feinberg Waldo David Frank Joseph M. Gillman Kumar Goshal Fred Halstead Nathan Hare Margot Heinemann Stefan Heym Leo Huberman Joachim Joesten Mark Lane (author) Martin Luther King Jr. Curtis D. MacDougall Andrew March Carl Marzani Harvey Matusow Eve Merriam Edita Morris Fred Warner Neal Truman J. Nelson Mike Newberry Pavel Nilin Eric Norden Victor Perlo Charlotte Pomerantz Bernard Sachs Joseph J.Seldin Morris Schappes Edgar Snow Joseph William Still Anna Louise Strong Paul Sweezy T.H. Tetens Robert F. Williams William Appleman Williams William Worthy Fred Wright (cartoonist)
Translators Joseph Fels Barnes Carl Marzani
See also Angus Cameron (publisher) Albert E. Kahn Albert Henry Munsell Little, Brown and Company Alfred A. Knopf Boni & Liveright Dial Press
Notes Harvey Matusow's False Witness. Robert F. Williams' Negroes with Guns. Referring to Ring Lardner Jr.
References
External links Correspondence letter dated January 1962 with Leo Szilard at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) Advertising letter dated June 1968 Tamiment Library - Series VI: Publishing: Cameron Associations, Marzani & Munsell, 1953–1970 Open Library = Marzani & Munsell