Knopf met her future husband while spending the summer of 1911 with her family on Long Island. The Borzoi Quarterly was a Knopf publication devoted to a variety of in-house topics. (July 1, 2023). She was always there for Blanche. Ad Choices. Born in New York City July 30, 1893, the daughter of Julius Wolf, a successful jeweler, and Bertha (Samuels) Wolf, Blanche grew up in a privileged ambiance, tutored by French and German governesses. "Glimpses of the Blitz." Knopf has long been a golden name in publishing, the home to many distinguished authors and highly regarded for the careful scholarship and esthetic elegance of its books. A leading American publisher, Blanche Knopf played a key role in twentieth century publishi, Alfred A. Knopf Knopfs first real hit was a reprint of W. H. Hudsons Green Mansions, and the list quickly grew to what reads like a syllabus of the great twentieth-century European authors: Thomas Mann, Sigrid Undset, Knut Hamsun, D. H. Lawrence, Franz Kafka, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Elizabeth Bowen. Her work to publish black authors created an ongoing commitment to African American literature by the Alfred A. Knopf Company. [5] Their relationship was built on their mutual interest in books. Only three people in the company were allowed to sign contractsthe Knopfs and their general manager. Blanche Wolf Knopf, indirectly, was able to challenge and alter the streams of American thought during the first half of the twentieth century. She published The Second Sex at a time when America was most conspicuously conservative, puritanical, and aggressively anti-communist. Early life, marriage, and the publishing firm, The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women, Copyright 19982023, Jewish Women's Archive. They prided themselves on publishing books that were physically well-made, colorfulalways with the hope that each book would challenge the ideas and imaginations of readers. October 17, 1983, p. 88. "Profiles, PublisherI: A Very Distinguished Pavane," in The New Yorker. https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/knopf-blanche-1894-1966, "Knopf, Blanche (18941966) [9] She learned the mechanics of printing and publishing and went on to become a highly influential editor. From the start, the Knopfs were noted for high standards of bookmaking. It is a tribute to the esteem in which he held her that she was the only woman allowed to visit Mencken in his last days. "Carl Van Vechten, Blanche Knopf, and the Harlem Renaissance." She also began a series of affairsnot with authors, as you might guess, but with musicians, and her scorecard soon grew to rival Alma Mahlers: Stokowski, Heifetz, Koussevitzky, Benno Moiseiwitsch. Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History, Book publishing began to flourish in the American colonies during the eighteenth century. He took care of his needs with hookers, she says, and on occasion even shared them with his son. They were terrified of her. a publishing firm that published not just books, but books that changed lives, books that truly challenged the minds and imaginations of several generations of Americans. Four years before her death, she wrote to him, Ridiculous that at our ages we (or I?) Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. The Maltese Falcon | National Endowment for the Arts 57 years, 1 . On April 4, 1916, she married Alfred, cementing the bonds of marriage and work that would keep the two inextricably bound. No, its not going to be easy because the dynamic between the two of them would not be easy, Light said. Alfred and Blanche Knopf did not have a happy marriage but together they founded a publishing house with a genius for zeitgeist. Madison, Charles A. As late as 1965, she wasnt allowed to join the Publishers Lunch Club, because it did not accept women, and in 1950, when she was given an award by the Brazilian government for her role in promoting Brazilian literature, the headline in the Herald Tribune read: Brazil Honors Mrs. Knopf: Makes Publishers Wife a Chevalier in Order of the Southern Cross. But she could be her own worst enemy, and many people, including her husband and her son (Alfred, Jr., known as Pat, who was born in 1918, was their only child), found her impossible to get along with. 46, no. Claridge notes that even in the midst of the Depression, Blanche would make an annual trip to Paris to acquire the latest fashions. Mencken, who eventually served on their company's board. The country of Brazil named her a Cavaleiro of the Brazilian National Order of the Southern Cross in 1950 and again honored her in 1964 with the title of Oficial. She also claimed to be an only child, despite having an older brother, who ran a garage. Inc, Blanchecotte, Augustine-Malvina (18301895), https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/economics-magazines/knopf-blanche, https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/blanche-wolf-knopf, https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/knopf-blanche. "Carl Van Vechten, Blanche Knopf, and the Harlem Renaissance." Mencken, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett and Langston Hughes. Alfred A. Knopf Sr. Alfred A. Knopf Jr. Blanche Wolf Knopf (July 30, 1894 - June 4, 1966) was the president of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., and wife of publisher Alfred A. Knopf Sr., with whom she established the firm in 1915. MAGAZINE Subscribe Sign In Joanna Scutts / April 13, 2016 A Publishing House of Her Own Blanche Knopf built the reputation of the legendary publisher, but her name was left off the masthead.. Alfred A. Knopf published women writers such as Willa Cather and Katherine Mansfield , and black writers such as Langston Hughes and James Weldon Johnson. Hellman, Geoffrey. Blanche Wolf Knopf (July 30, 1894 - June 4, 1966) was the president of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., and wife of publisher Alfred A. Knopf Sr., with whom she established the firm in 1915. The foyer of the glamorous Ritz Hotel in Paris has long been famous as a gathering place for fashionable women meeting in the afternoon for tea, but in the morning the room can usually be found empty. Web site: http://www.hmco.com I havent met five people who ever read Gibran.. Blanche Knopf was born Blanche Wolf in New York in 1894, the daughter of Julius W. Wolf, a prosperous jeweler, and Berta Wolf . ." [2], Knopf frequently traveled to Europe and Latin America to meet foreign authors and publishers. Lemay, Harding. . In 1921, she became the vice president and director of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. and during the following decades, published the works of Sigrid Undset, Thomas Mann, Kahlil Gibran, Knut Hamsun, Mikhail Sholokhov, Angela Thirkell, Elizabeth Bowen, Elinor Wylie, Allan Sollitoe, and Katherine Mansfield. She also introduced the new writings of Europeans in translated versions. Retrieved July 01, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/blanche-wolf-knopf. Who is Blanche Knopf in Julia? Between Covers: The Rise and Transformation of Book Publishing in America. [CDATA[ Blanche traveled the world seeking new authors and was especially influential in the publication of European and Latin . But she never wavered, Judith never wavered. After World War II, Knopf returned to Europe in search of new authors. "Alfred A. Knopf," in American Literary Publishing Houses 19001980: Trade and Paperback. The beginning of World War II made traveling to Europe difficult, but rather than slow her efforts, Knopf simply turned to a new arenaLatin American literature. During her tenure, the firm was noted for publishing such authors as Andr Gide, Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Elizabeth Bowen, Ilya Ehrenburg . [7], In the TV series, Julia, based on the life of Julia Child, Knopf is portrayed by Judith Light. The Knopf of Knopfs - WSJ Some of the influential French names she successfully brought to the Knopf company included the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, existentialist novelist Albert Camus, and the feminist theorist Simone de Beauvoir. February 1961, pp. For example, to ensure consistency, she had Helen T. Lowe-Porter translate the complete works of Thomas Mann. The biography is also incorrect in places (Ford Madox Fords The Good Soldier is not, as Claridge writes, a First World War novel) and wadded with information that is either self-evident or irrelevant. Blanche and Alfred, both children of prosperous New York Jewish families, met in the summer of 1911, when she was 17 and he almost 19, at a private club on Long Island's South Shore. began scouting for her fledgling publishing house quality . Blanche Wolf Knopf died in New York City on June 4, 1966. Said Blanche, "A man and his wife don't become Siamese twins bent on identical pursuits and craving the same foods, friends, and diversions." His manner with writers was bluff and a little breezy. There is a healthy, active, exciting creative spirit, she wrote, such as I have not seen there in fifteen years. In 1948, as a result of her dynamic relationship with her authors and her personal supervision of the manuscripts and translations, Geoffrey Hellman described her as aggressive, hunchy, dynamic, social, politically minded, and capable of exerting a very considerable charm even while she courts writers the firm would like to publish . Knopf, Blanche, "Albert Camus in the Sun," in The Atlantic Monthly. It was very much kept a secret. While he collected and drank fine wines, she remained a bourbon drinker. NYTimes, June 5, 1966, 86:1, and Newsweek (June 20, 1966), and Publishers Weekly (June 13, 1966). William L. Shirers Berlin Diary was another runaway best-seller. Knopf told the reporter, "There's not a German writer left in Germany who is worth thinking about. He had a Hussars bushy mustache and wore Savile Row suits and ties and shirts from Sulka, often in daring shades of green and purple. The successful partnership forged by Blanche and Alfred Knopf had changed the world's literary landscape. Fadiman, Clifton, editor, Fifty Years: Being a Retrospective Collection Drawn from Volumes Issued During the Last Half-Century by Alfred and Blanche Knopf, Knopf, 1965. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, Theres also room for Julia Season 2 to explore the direct relationship between Blanche and her client Julia Child, a person Blanche does not at all understand, or respect in the same way she does her prized novelists, whom she wishes Judith would spend more of her time with than Julia. Playing up the provocative title while minimizing the radical themes of the book, Knopf presented an appealing package that managed to earn acceptance in the marketplace. Blanche Wolf Knopf (July 30, 1894 - June 4, 1966) was the president of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. and wife of publisher Alfred Knopf, with whom she established the firm in 1915. [3][6] Their first home, which they called Sans Souci (meaning carefree), was in Hartsdale, New York. Publishers. New Yorker (November 20 and 27, December 4, 1948). Without a need to preserve family ownership, the couple welcomed the Random House merger, which allowed the firm to maintain its independence and its own imprint. Blanche traveled the world seeking new authors and was especially influential in the publication of European and Latin American literature in the United States. This seems at least slightly exaggerated, since the Continental Op stories in Black Mask magazine had already garnered lots of attention. Until the end of her life, she maintained her role as an important figure in shaping literary tastes, bringing new voices from around the world to the American public. With that good news, fans of the Julia Child scripted series can rest assured they will be learning more about The French Chef herself (played by Sarah Lancashire) and the people who made her the icon she is in Season 2, including Judith Lights Blanche Knopf. The gifted writers and enterprising publishers who had any independence have all left Germany. February 1, 1965, pp. Perhaps so. At a time when she knew little about France's existentialists, she met with Sartre in Paris, declared that she wanted to know more about this group of French philosophers, and asked for a list its members. In her old age, Knopf suffered from failing eyesight. Let us know. ." On the rare occasions when they were alone together, she might complain that she was cold and ask him to put another log on the fire. Educated at home by French and German governesses and at the Gardner School in New York, Blanche became fluent in several languages, especially French, which she spoke as if it were her native tongue. There were financially strapped years at the beginning and again during the Depression. At a time when few women were company officers, much less full partners in American firms, she worked in a world dominated almost entirely by men. She arranged publishing deals with such notable authors as Andr Gide, Thomas Mann, Ilya Ehrenburg, and Mikhail Sholokhov. and a little misleading. Blanche Knopfs abilities and what she added to the firm were not without their cost. Alfred was always a publisher more than an editor, and considered editors a necessary evil at best. That was, in a way, Blanches Achilles heel, Light says. "Blanche W. Knopf," in The Obituary Book. (Viewed on July 14, 2023)