This article is about the American book publisher who lived from 1814 to 1872. For his grandson, the American publisher, author and explorer who lived from 1887 to 1950 and was married to
Amelia Earhart, see
George P. Putnam.
'George Palmer Putnam''' (
February 7, 1814 –
December 20, 1872) was an important
American book publisher.
Putnam was born in
Brunswick, Maine. In
1838, George Palmer Putnam and
John Wiley established the publishing house of "Wiley & Putnam" in
New York City. In 1841, Putnam went to
London, UK where he set up a branch office, the first American to ever do so. In 1848 he returned to New York where he dissolved the partnership with John Wiley and established "G. Putnam Broadway," publishing a variety of works including quality illustrated books. In 1852, with the assistance of
George William Curtis and other partners, he founded "
Putnam's Magazine." His company was the official publisher to the 1853
New York World's Fair.
George Putnam published the books of many classic American authors including his close friend
Washington Irving, William Cullen Bryant, James Fenimore Cooper, and
Edgar Allan Poe. He served as secretary for the Publishers' association for many years and was an advocate of the creation of
International Copyright Law. During the
American Civil War, he participated in the
Loyal Publication Society of New York, and functioned as the United States government's Commissioner of the
Internal Revenue Service in New York City.
An important member of the New York artistic community, Putnam was the leading publisher of art books in his time and became one of the founders of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art and its first Superintendent. He is also believed to have been the first publisher to offer "
royalties" to authors like
Elizabeth Barrett Browning and
Thomas Carlyle.
George Putnam married Victorine Haven. Their daughter,
Mary Corinna Putnam (1842-1906) was the first woman to become a member of the
Academy of Medicine and one of their sons,
Herbert Putnam (1861-1955), became a noted librarian who served as the United States
Librarian of Congress.
On Putnam's death in 1872 his sons
George, John and
Irving inherited the business and the firm's name was changed to
G. P. Putnam's Sons. George Putnam published his father's memoirs in 1912 and in 2000, his life's story was told again under the title "
George Palmer Putnam - Representative American Publisher" by
Ezra Greenspan, Associate Professor of English at the
University of South Carolina.
George Palmer Putnam's grandson and namesake,
George P. Putnam (1887-1950), was part of the family business but was also an author and explorer who was married to the famous aviatrix,
Amelia Earhart. 
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