Charles Scribner IV (July 13, 1921 – November 11, 1995), also known as Charles Scribner Jr.,[1] was the head of the Charles Scribner's Sons publishing company.[2] He was a resident of Manhattan for most of his adult life, establishing a residence in the Upper East Side after 1945, when he was twenty-four.
He succeeded his father, Charles Scribner III, in 1952 as chief of Charles Scribner's Sons, which had been founded by his great-grandfather, Charles Scribner I, in 1846. In 1952, he succeeded his father as President of Scribners.[4] He served in that role until 1977 when he became chairman in 1977. In 1978, he became chairman of the Scribner Book Companies, the holding company. He oversaw the operations until 1984, when the company was bought out by Macmillan Publishing.[2]
In his book In the Company of Writers, Charles Scribner discusses the publication of The Secret River by Marjorie Rawlings, noting that Rawlings never mentions the race of the character, Calpurnia.[7] Since the book went into production after her death, Rawlings could not be consulted about her final intentions. At this time the depiction of black children in American children's literature had decreased, until it was almost non-existent.[8]
While a few books were still appearing, "White (children's) publishers were still not open to books with Black themes",[9] according to Joyce Braden Harris on "African and African-American Traditions in Language Arts". Scribner pointed out that "Whatever our decision, we could land on the wrong side of the school boards",[7] and claims it was his idea to use dark paper in the book as a way to suggest Calpurnia's race, calling it "one of my silent contributions to dissolving the color barrier in the 1950s."[7] The book received a Newbery Honor Award in 1956 for "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children",[10] and was honored by the American Society of Graphic Arts.[2]
Personal life
Scribner married figure skater Jeanette Kissel "Joan" Sunderland, a great-great-granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt and the two had three children:[11]
Charles Scribner V, now usually known as Charles Scribner III, a graduate of Princeton University, an art historian and author.[12][13]
He died on November 11, 1995, at the Mary Manning Walsh nursing home on York Avenue in Manhattan.[2]
References
^His father also called himself "Charles Scribner, Jr.", and registered for the World War I draft under that name.
^ abcdefgEric Pace (November 13, 1995). "Charles Scribner Jr., Who Headed Publishing Company, Dies at 74". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-07-24. Charles Scribner Jr., the longtime head of the Charles Scribner's Sons book publishing company, died on Saturday at the Mary Manning Walsh nursing home on York Avenue in Manhattan. He was 74 and lived on the Upper East Side of Manhattan for half a century. The cause was pneumonia, and he had suffered for a decade from a degenerative neurological disorder, said his son Charles Scribner 3d.
^"Archives of Charles Scribner's Sons". Princeton University. Archived from the original on 2008-05-02. Retrieved 2008-07-25. Charles Scribner, 1821–1871 (Princeton Class of 1840), Charles Scribner, 1854–1930 (Princeton Class of 1875), Arthur Hawley Scribner, 1859–1932 (Princeton Class of 1881), Charles Scribner, 1890–1952 (Princeton Class of 1913), Charles Scribner, 1921–1995 (Princeton Class of 1943), Charles Scribner, 1951– (Princeton Class of 1973)
^Pescasolido, Bernice A.; Elizabeth Grauerholz; Melissa Milkie (June 1997). "Culture and Conflict: The Portrayal of Blacks in U. S. Children's Picture Books through the Mid- and Late-Twentieth Century". American Sociological Review. 62 (3): 443. doi:10.2307/2657315. JSTOR2657315.
