Dick & Fitzgerald

Dick & Fitzgerald was a New York publishing firm founded by William Brisbane Dick (1827–1901) and Lawrence R. Fitzgerald (1826–1881). The company grew out of the world of mid-19th-century popular publishing and became known for producing inexpensive books meant for broad public appeal.

Their catalog was wide-ranging and practical, covering subjects such as music, entertainment, etiquette, games, humor, and household amusements. They were especially associated with the kind of lively, accessible books that ordinary readers could buy for fun, self-improvement, or social occasions.

Today, Dick & Fitzgerald is remembered less as a single author than as a publishing name closely tied to American popular culture in the 1800s. Their surviving catalogs and books offer a vivid snapshot of what readers in that era enjoyed reading, singing, performing, and talking about.