A.C. McClurg & Co.

active Chicago, 1844 - 1962

BiographyA. C. McClurg was a stationer, publisher, and book wholesaler for over 120 years in Chicago, Illinois. The business began in 1844, as Chicago's first stationery store and changed hands several times, often as the result of a fire. Alexander McClurg came into management of the business at the time of the Great Chicago Fire (1871) and established an interest in fine literature, which was pursued by the company until late in the first decade of the 20th century. While pursuing interests in fine English literature and the literary magazine, The Dial, perhaps one of the most historically important books published by McClurg's "Rare Books" section was W. E. B. Du Bois' The Souls of Black Folk (1903).[1]

About a decade after McClurg's death, although the company kept his name, it shut down his Rare Books section of the business and pursued popular adventure, perhaps most famously in the original publishing of the Tarzan of the Apes novels and other stories of Chicago author, Edgar Rice Burroughs, as well as Tom Mix stories. While these book proved very successful, the business model eventually changed again, and from 1922 to 1962, A.C. McClurg was primarily a book wholesaler. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._C._McClurg DJackson 4/7/2021]

Person TypeInstitution

Last Updated8/7/24

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