Public Affairs Press
StatusDefunct
Foundedc. 1939; 85 years ago (1939)
FounderMorris Bartel Schnapper
Defunctc. 1985; 39 years ago (1985)
SuccessorPublicAffairs[1]
Country of originUnited States
Headquarters locationWashington, D.C.
Key peopleMorris Bartel Schnapper
Fiction genresNonfiction

Public Affairs Press (c. 1939 – mid-1980s) was a book publisher in Washington, D.C., owned and often edited by Morris Bartel Schnapper (1912–1999).[2][3]

History

According to notional successor Peter Osnos of the 1997-founded PublicAffairs:

For fifty years, the banner of Public Affairs Press was carried by its owner, Morris B. Schnapper, who published Gandhi, Nasser, Toynbee, Truman, and about 1,500 other authors... His legacy will endure in the books to come.[1]

Supreme Court Case

In 1961, Pub. Affairs Associates, Inc. v. Rickover, 369 U.S. 111 (1962), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that the circuit court's decision should be vacated because the facts of the case were too unclear. Remanded to district court to create an "adequate and full-bodied record.".[4]

The case concerned whether or not speeches written by Admiral Hyman G. Rickover in the course of his duties to the federal government of the United States were copyrightable. Generally, works of the United States government are not.[citation needed] The case spent nine years in litigation.[5]

After the case was passed back to a district court, the Register of Copyrights, the Librarian of Congress, the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of Defence, and the Atomic Energy Commissioners were all added as defendants. The court ruled in Admiral Rickover's and their favor, saying that speechwriting should be considered "private business from start to finish."[5][6]

Ranking

In 1983, according to The Washington Post, there were three major book publishers in Washington, D.C.:

  1. Acropolis Books, founded 1960 by Alphons J. Hackl (owner of Colortone Press)
  2. EPM Publications, founded by Evelyn P. Metzger (formerly a Doubleday representative)
  3. Public Affairs Books, founded 1944 by Morris Bartel Schnapper
  4. Potomac Books
  5. Seven Locks Press
  6. Robert J. Brady
  7. Reston Publishing
  8. Matthew Brady
  9. Aspen Systems
  10. Congressional Information Service
  11. Bureau of National Affairs (BNA)[2]

(Note: Books below under "Works," gleaned from the Library of Congress, show publisher name "Public Affairs Press" as far back as 1940.)

The Post called founder Morris B. Schnapper a "redoubtable gadfly."[2]

American Council on Public Affairs

In the 1940s, Schnapper served on the staff of the American Council on Public Affairs as executive secretary and editor. The organization had "advisory assistance" in various fields from experts:

Between 1942 and 1946, the American Council on Public Affairs published seven books through Public Affairs Press:

Location

According to Library of Congress records, Public Affairs Press had offices at 2153 Florida Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, between 1940 and 1948.[9]

In 1962, Public Affairs Press had offices at 419 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington DC 20003, DC.[10]

Legacy

In 1997, Peter Osnos, when founding PublicAffairs, asked and received permission from Schnapper to name his new publishing house after Public Affairs Books.[11]

Works

By 1983, the Post reported, Public Affairs Press had published some 1,500 books and pamphlets on political-social-economic and historical topics. In 1983, its current catalog listed 100 titles.[2]

Public Affairs Press often had Washington insiders add introductions and similar materials to its book, e.g., prior to their presidencies, introductions by John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Baynes Johnson.

The most published author was Frederick Mayer (1921-2006), an educational scientist, philosopher, and proponent of global humanism who wrote more than sixty books, including eight with Public Affairs Press.

The Library of Congress has the following nearly 400 books recorded as published in Washington, DC, by Public Affairs Press:

1940s:

1950s:

1960s:

1970s:

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "A Note from the Founder". PublicAffairs. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d Greenya, John (April 3, 1983). "Publishing on the Potomac". Washington Post. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  3. ^ Estrada, Louie (February 7, 1999). "Book Publisher Morris Schnapper Dies at Age 86". Washington Post. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  4. ^ Pub. Affairs Associates, Inc. v. Rickover, 369 U.S. 111 (1962)
  5. ^ a b Abraham L. Kaminstein. 71st Annual Report of the Register of Copyrights (PDF) (Report). United States Copyright Office. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  6. ^ Pub. Affairs Associates, Inc. v. Rickover, 268 F. Supp. 444 (D.D.C. 1967)
  7. ^ Abernethy, Byron R. (1943). Liberty concepts in labor relations. American Council on Public Affairs. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  8. ^ "The Online Books Page: American Council on Public Affairs". University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  9. ^ Guide to America : pictorial supplement. Public Affairs Press. 1940. LCCN 2019360313. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  10. ^ "Copyright Law Revision" (PDF). Saturday Review. 1962. p. 651. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  11. ^ Streitfield, David (May 29, 1997). "Big Picture Books". Washington Post. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  12. ^ Angel, Dan (1970). William G. Milliken: A Touch of Steel. Public Affairs Press.

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