Theosophical Press: Difference between revisions
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== Reorganization and renaming == | == Reorganization and renaming == | ||
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Convergence of several events led to the reorganization and renaming of the publishing house. [[Herbert A. Kern, Sr.]] and [[The Kern Foundation]] began in the early 1960s to issue grants to support Theosophical work, and Mr. Kern was especially interested in dissemination of information through book publishing. [[Joy Mills]], in her first year as President of the [[Theosophical Society in America]], was making preparations to participate in the 1966 World Congress in Salzburg - the first such gathering in thirty years. | |||
<blockquote> | |||
Anticipating the impact our new paperback publishing program would have on the world Society and feeling the need for the development of a new literature or revising some of our older books, we had called on the International President, [[Nilakanta Sri Ram|N. Sri Ram]], to convene two special invitational conferences during the Congress period, one to deal with international publishing agreements among the three major English language publishing houses (Wheaton, Adyar and London), and the other to consider the modernization of theosophical literature. Our proposals had been supported by the Australian and English Sections, and the President had readily agreed to the scheduling of such discussions along with a meeting of the Society's General Council. To ensure our representation at these sessions, we had requested a special grant from the Kern Foundation to enable us to extend World Congress fellowships to five members intimately involved in these areas of our work, while the National Board of Directors had already approved sponsoring me [Joy Mills] as the Section's official representative at the Congress.<ref>Joy Mills, ''100 Years of Theosophy in America: 1875-1975''. (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 163-164.</ref> | |||
</blockquote> | |||
[[Quest Books]], the new line of paperback books, was launched early in 1966, with '''''The Essential Unity of All Religions''''' by [[Bhagavan Das]] as the first title. Demand for that book was high due to an editorial written by David Lawrence in ''U. S. News and World Report''. It had been printed by Theosophical Press in 1939, and reprinted in 1947, but sold out completely. | |||
At the World Congress, an agreement was reached in which Theosophical Press changed its name to [[Theosophical Publishing House (Wheaton)|Theosophical Publishing House]]: | |||
<blockquote> | |||
The three English language publishing houses of the Society, each retaining its own management and organizational structure, would now be known under a single name, the works of any one of them bearing the addresses of the other two.<ref>Joy Mills, ''100 Years of Theosophy in America: 1875-1975''. (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 168.</ref> | |||
</blockquote> | |||
After that agreement was ratified by the TSA's Board of Directors on September 1, 1966, the Theosophical Press officially became [[Theosophical Publishing House (Wheaton)|Theosophical Publishing House, Wheaton]]. | |||
== Publications == | == Publications == | ||
Revision as of 14:13, 28 July 2014
The Theosophical Press was a publishing house operated by the American Theosophical Society at its headquarters in Chicago and then in Wheaton, Illinois. It was replaced by the Theosophical Publishing House, Wheaton.
History
The company was established in 1922 from the Theosophical Book Concern that had in 1916 become an agency of the Theosophical Publishing House in Adyar. After L. W. Rogers became President in 1920, he negotiated with International President Annie Besant to return the book business to the American Section headquarters in Chicago. The name "The Theosophical Press" was suggested by Miss Gail Wilson in April 1922.[1] Mr. Rogers arranged to purchase a headquarters building that would suitably house both the Section offices and the revived publishing business. The house at 826 Oakdale was quickly expanded to accommodate the stock of books received from California when the original Krotona site was sold.[2] The new book business was quickly a success; at the 1923 annual convention, book sales exceeded $1000.[3] Rogers developed a "new book plan" to encourage local book stores all over the country to stock Theosophical Press books.[4]
The company had its own printing presses and bindery equipment. When the American Theosophical Society moved to new headquarters in Wheaton, Illinois in September, 1927, the publishing company moved as well. The Theosophical Press printed books, pamphlets, periodicals such as The American Theosophist, publicity materials, and administrative forms.
In 1947, a New York member named Captain Russell Lloyd Jones financed publication of a new edition of The Essential Unity of All Religions by Bhagavan Das. Fifteen hundred copies of this important work were distributed to "Outstanding people in the business, education and cultural world." One of those copies reached the hands of David Lawrence, editor of U. S. News and World Report, who mentioned it in a 1966 editorial. That led to the work's reissue as the first Quest Books paperback edition.[5]
Reorganization and renaming
Convergence of several events led to the reorganization and renaming of the publishing house. Herbert A. Kern, Sr. and The Kern Foundation began in the early 1960s to issue grants to support Theosophical work, and Mr. Kern was especially interested in dissemination of information through book publishing. Joy Mills, in her first year as President of the Theosophical Society in America, was making preparations to participate in the 1966 World Congress in Salzburg - the first such gathering in thirty years.
Anticipating the impact our new paperback publishing program would have on the world Society and feeling the need for the development of a new literature or revising some of our older books, we had called on the International President, N. Sri Ram, to convene two special invitational conferences during the Congress period, one to deal with international publishing agreements among the three major English language publishing houses (Wheaton, Adyar and London), and the other to consider the modernization of theosophical literature. Our proposals had been supported by the Australian and English Sections, and the President had readily agreed to the scheduling of such discussions along with a meeting of the Society's General Council. To ensure our representation at these sessions, we had requested a special grant from the Kern Foundation to enable us to extend World Congress fellowships to five members intimately involved in these areas of our work, while the National Board of Directors had already approved sponsoring me [Joy Mills] as the Section's official representative at the Congress.[6]
Quest Books, the new line of paperback books, was launched early in 1966, with The Essential Unity of All Religions by Bhagavan Das as the first title. Demand for that book was high due to an editorial written by David Lawrence in U. S. News and World Report. It had been printed by Theosophical Press in 1939, and reprinted in 1947, but sold out completely.
At the World Congress, an agreement was reached in which Theosophical Press changed its name to Theosophical Publishing House:
The three English language publishing houses of the Society, each retaining its own management and organizational structure, would now be known under a single name, the works of any one of them bearing the addresses of the other two.[7]
After that agreement was ratified by the TSA's Board of Directors on September 1, 1966, the Theosophical Press officially became Theosophical Publishing House, Wheaton.
Publications
These are some examples of works published by the Theosophical Press:
Notes
- ↑ Joy Mills, 100 Years of Theosophy in America: 1875-1975. (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 83.
- ↑ Joy Mills, 100 Years of Theosophy in America: 1875-1975. (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 85-86.
- ↑ Joy Mills, 100 Years of Theosophy in America: 1875-1975. (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 88.
- ↑ Joy Mills, 100 Years of Theosophy in America: 1875-1975. (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 88-89.
- ↑ Joy Mills, 100 Years of Theosophy in America: 1875-1975. (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 131.
- ↑ Joy Mills, 100 Years of Theosophy in America: 1875-1975. (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 163-164.
- ↑ Joy Mills, 100 Years of Theosophy in America: 1875-1975. (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 168.