author
H. D. (Herman Daniel) Umbstaetter
1851–1913
Best known for launching the lively short-story magazine The Black Cat, this Ohio-born editor and publisher also wrote fiction of his own. His work sits at the crossroads of popular magazine culture, railroad journalism, and turn-of-the-century American storytelling.
1 Audiobook
The red-hot dollar, and other stories from the Black Cat
by H. D. (Herman Daniel) Umbstaetter
About the author
Born in Ohio in 1851, Herman Daniel Umbstaetter built a varied career in publishing, advertising, and journalism before becoming best known as the founder of The Black Cat, a magazine devoted to short fiction. He had earlier worked with railroad publications, including The Railroad Trainman, which helped establish his reputation as an editor and publisher.
Umbstaetter was also a writer. His best-known book, The Red-Hot Dollar, and Other Stories from the Black Cat (1911), gathered stories connected with the magazine and carried an introduction by Jack London. That link hints at the kind of literary space he helped create: lively, accessible, and open to popular storytelling rather than strictly elite literary culture.
He died in 1913. While he is less famous now than some of the writers who appeared around his magazine, his role in shaping a home for short stories gives him a lasting place in American publishing history.