George Braziller Explained

George Braziller (February 12, 1916^[1] – March 16, 2017)^[2] was an American book publisher and the founder of George Braziller, Inc., a firm known for its literary and artistic books and its publication of foreign authors.

Life and career

Braziller was first employed as a shipping clerk, during the Great Depression. In 1941, George and Marsha Braziller founded the "Book Find Club", which was smaller than the Book of the Month Club but exceedingly successful, "with a reputation for seriousness of purpose." They then began the "Seven Arts Book Society" in 1951 and in 1955 they began to publish their own books.^[3] The Braziller publishing firm is located at 277 Broadway, Suite 708, in Manhattan, New York City. When Braziller travelled to Europe in the late 1950s, he was in Paris during the May 1958 crisis in France brought about by the Algerian War of Independence. Henri Alleg's book La Question, an autobiographical account of imprisonment and torture in Algiers, which Braziller brought back from that trip and published in English-language translation,^[4] was his firm's first big success in the United States, with an introduction written by Jean-Paul Sartre.^[5]

In 2011, George Braziller retired at the age of 95. His son Michael Braziller of Persea Books,^[6] became publisher and editorial director while George's elder son Joel Braziller became secretary-treasurer and director of permissions. With a small team they maintain the Braziller tradition with new series and a rich backlist.^[3]

Book series

Book series published by George Braziller have included:

• The American Culture Series
• The American Image Series
• The Arts of Mankind
• The Braziller Series of Poetry^[7]
• The Great American Artists Series^[8]
• The Great Draughtsmen Series
• The Great Fresco Cycles of the Renaissance^[9]
• Great Religions of Modern Man
• The Masters of World Architecture Series^[10]
• New Directions in Architecture
• Planning and Cities
• Vision + Value Series
• World Landscape Art & Architecture Series

Beginning in 1968, Braziller also published an implicit series of "excellent editions of partial facsimiles" of medieval manuscripts.^[11]

Book series published by Michael Braziller have included:

• The Braziller Series of Australian Poets^[12]

Further reading

• George Braziller, Encounters: My Life in Publishing, New York: George Braziller, Inc., 2015.

External links

• George Braziller Inc. website
• George Braziller, Inc. Records at Syracuse University
• David Finn, "Interview with George Braziller".

Notes and References

1. Web site: Braziller. George. United States Public Records Index. Family Search. 2 December 2013.
2. Italie, Hillel (March 17, 2017). "George Braziller, literary publisher dies at 101"., Associated Press. Retrieved 2017-03-19.
3. Web site: History . George Braziller . October 28, 2019.
4. Web site: The Edge of the Abyss; THE QUESTION. By Henri Alleg. Introduction by Jean - Paul Sartre. Translated by John Calder from the French La Question. 123 pp. New York: George Braziller. $2.95 . . June 8, 1958 . October 28, 2019 . D. W. Brogan.
5. News: George Braziller, independent publisher who gave early boosts to literary greats, dies at 101. The Washington Post. Hillel. Italie. March 19, 2017.
6. Web site: About . Persea Books . October 28, 2019.
7. https://lib.asu.edu/shelf-life/illustrations The Illustrations
8. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00043249.1960.10793967 Book review: The Great American Artists Series, Lloyd Goodrich, Albert P. Ryder, 128 pp., 86 ill. (16 in color); Fairfield Porter, Thomas Eakins, 127 pp., 89 ill. [16 in color); Lloyd Goodrich, Winslow Homer, 127 pp., 99 ill. (16 in color); E. C. Goossen, Stuart Davis, 128 pp., 82 ill. (16 in color); Frank O'Hara, Jackson Pollock, 125 pp., 91 ill. (16 in color); Thomas B. Hess, Willem de Kooning, 128 pp., 161 ill. (16 in color)], tandfonline.com, Art Journal, Volume 20, 1960 - Issue 1, pages 52-56. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
9. http://www.georgebraziller.com/andrea-mantegna-padua-and-mantua-great-fresco-cycles-of-the-renaissance Andrea Mantegna: Padua and Mantua (Great Fresco Cycles of the Renaissance)
10. https://www.librarything.com/nseries/25591/Masters-of-World-Architecture Masters of World Architecture
11. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3850938 "Medieval Manuscripts"
12. http://www.georgebraziller.com/braziller-series-of-australian-poets The Braziller Series of Australian Poets