author
John B. (John Berry) Alden
1847–1924
A driving force behind America's late-19th-century cheap-book boom, he built a publishing business that tried to put classics, reference works, and general reading within reach of ordinary buyers. His name is closely tied to the "Literary Revolution," a bold challenge to the high prices of the book trade of his day.
2 Audiobooks
The Alden Catalogue of Choice Books, May 30, 1889
by John B. (John Berry) Alden
Alden's Handy Atlas of the World Including One Hundred and Thirty-eight Colored Maps, Diagrams, Tables, Etc.
by John B. (John Berry) Alden
About the author
Born in Henry County, Iowa, in 1847, John Berry Alden entered the book world after the Civil War, working first in the Midwest before moving into publishing. He became known for energy, ambition, and a sharp sense of how to reach a mass audience.
Alden made his mark by selling inexpensive editions and subscription publications at a scale that unsettled much of the established publishing business. Contemporary accounts and later histories connect him with the "Literary Revolution," a movement that pushed cheaper books into more homes and helped widen access to reading in the United States.
He was not only a publisher but also an editor and compiler whose name appears on catalogs, atlases, cyclopedias, and other practical works. Alden died in 1924, leaving behind a reputation as one of the more aggressive and influential figures in popular publishing of his era.