Boni, Albert, 1892-1981

Boni was born in 1892 in New York City; attended Harvard Univ.; in 1912, with his brother Charles, he established the Washington Square Book Shop, a gathering place for Bohemian intellectuals; about 1914 originated the idea of a very small format for abridged classics called "The Little Leather Library," which were sold through Woolworth's; sold the book shop in 1917 and joined Horace Liveright to form the Boni-Liveright Publishing Co., which introduced the "Modern Library of the World's Best Classics;" in 1923 he and his brother founded a firm which introduced "Boni Paper Books" and sold them by mail-order subscription; the firm also published such controversial and influential writers as Marcel Proust, Colette, D.H. Lawrence, and Upton Sinclair; the firm finally failed with the depression, and Boni later created the Readex Microprint Corp.; he died on July 13, 1981 in Ormond Beach, FL.

From the description of Collection of material about photography, ca. 1840-1983. (University of California, Los Angeles). WorldCat record id: 40497915

...