The Art of Prestige: The Formative Years at Knopf, 1915–1929

With its distinctive style—including its famous borzoi dog emblem—along with a roster of distinguished authors (Willa Cather, Albert Camus), the New York City publishing house Alfred A. Knopf strove to embody “prestige” even as it sought a wide market. In her ambitious, but ultimately unsatisfying history of the early years of Knopf, St. Edward’s University English professor Clements aims to create a portrait of the house’s earliest influences, business style, and formative history, and analyze larger issues about mass marketing, branding, and how reputation and tastes were shaped. Formed in 1915 and headed by Alfred and his wife, Blanche, Knopf started out by importing European (especially Russian) literature, and later cultivated American authors within the context of the Jazz age, the rise of modernism, and of modern advertising. The company built a name for itself through books that featured high-quality content and design. Though full of promising ideas, the book never quite coheres as a narrative, bouncing between biography, detailed corporate history, and publishing history. Several topics beg for further exploration, including Blanche’s role in a male-dominated field. However, for readers interested in the history of the publishing industry, this study may prove a good entry point. 10 illus. [em](July) [/em]