Updike, Daniel Berkeley, 1860-1941

Variant names
Dates:
Birth 1860
Death 1941-12-28
Americans,
English,

Biographical notes:

Daniel Berkeley Updike (1860-1941) was a book designer and printer in New England. He was born an only child in an old and well-connected New England family, but his father's death in 1877 prevented Updike from pursuing higher education. Updike's Episcopalian background greatly influenced both his character and his later work as a printer, and his intellectual and cultural character was molded by his mother, an antiquary and scholar of French and English literature. Updike's first book-related job was as a temporary volunteer in the library of the Providence Athenaeum. In 1880 he was offered a job as an errand boy at Houghton, Mifflin and Company of Boston. He worked at the firm for twelve years, moving up to the advertising department, where he prepared copy. In his last two years with the firm, he was transferred to the Riverside Press at Cambridge, Mass., where he learned about the mechanics of printing and displayed an aptitude for designing books. Upon leaving Houghton, Mifflin in 1893, Updike founded the Merrymount Press, and in 1896 he chose John Bianchi as the foreman of the press. Although he moved the press around the Boston area over the course of approximately thirty years, Updike finally settled in at 712 Beacon Street. Throughout the history of Merrymount Press, Updike was supported by a clientele that requested and appreciated fine books. He also received the patronage of commercial publishers such as Thomas Y. Crowell and Scribners, who asked him to design high-quality editions. After Updike's death, Bianchi carried on the work of the Merrymount Press until 1949, when its operations ceased.

From the description of Daniel Berkeley Updike papers, 1917, 1943. (University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 429909587

Boston printer.

From the description of Letter, Boston : to Ralph Adams Cram, Boston, 1928 June 8. (Boston Athenaeum). WorldCat record id: 460904454

Massachussets-born American printer, founder of The Merrymount Press.

From the description of Typed letter signed : Boston, to Edward Wagenknecht, 1931 June 1. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270868254

Daniel Berkeley Updike, printer and publisher, worked for the Merrymount Press of Boston, MA. He was a recognized authority on the history and use of print types, and he played an important role in the development and improvement of typography in the United States.

From the description of Letters, 1900-1924. (Manchester City Library). WorldCat record id: 32022857

Epithet: printer

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000496.0x0001da

Printer and typographer.

From the description of Correspondence, 1929-1941. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 754866336

Daniel Berkeley Updike, printer, publisher. 1860-1941. Born Providence, R.I.M.A. Brown, Honorary Degree Harvard. Founded Merrymount Press in Boston, 1803. Important contributor to improvement of topography in America. Lecturer on printing at Harvard and various libraries. Author of "On the Dedications of American Churches and Printing Types - Their History."

H.O.H. & Co. was founded by Henry Oscar Houghton, 1823-1895. Born in Sutton Vt. Graduated University of Vermont. Set up H.O. Houghton & Co. in Boston on the Charles River in 1852, soon known as the Riverside Press. Successful publisher, later Houghton Mifflin & Co.

From the description of Letter to Messrs. H.O.H. & Co. (L.A.W.), 1885 March 24. (University of Virginia). WorldCat record id: 57620869

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Subjects:

  • Printing
  • Publishers and publishing
  • Book designers
  • Printers
  • Printers
  • Private presses

Occupations:

  • Printer

Places:

  • Massachusetts--Boston (as recorded)
  • United States (as recorded)
  • United States (as recorded)

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