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Inventory of the Kurt Enoch Papers, 1960-1978

Contents

Summary

Main Entry: Kurt Enoch, 1894-1982
Title: Papers, 1960-1978
Size: 12.2 linear ft. (13 boxes)
Source: Gift of Mrs. Kurt Enoch
Finding aid: Compiled by Richard Salvato, July 1984
Restrictions: none

Biographical Note

Kurt Enoch was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1894 and died in New York City in 1982. After military service in World War I, Enoch worked in his father's book and magazine distributing business and studied at the University of Hamburg, where he eventually received the degree of Doctor of Social Science. He became general manager of the business in 1920, then partner and later sole owner.

After a distinguished career in Europe as a publisher of paperback reprints of British and American authors, Enoch came to the U.S. in 1940. In 1942 he joined Penguin Books, and in 1947, together with Victor Weybridge, he acquired the controlling interest in the present company and changed the corporate name to The New American Library of World Literature. He was instrumental in the 1960 merger of NAL with the Times Mirror Company of Los Angeles, and played key roles in the subsequent development of both organizations. From that year until his retirement in 1968, Enoch held various executive positions in NAL and the Times Mirror Company. After his retirement he was active as a book publishing consultant.

Scope and Content Note

The papers do not reflect the literary and editorial aspects of publishing. To a large degree, they deal with a single event: the merger in 1960 of the New American Library and the Times Mirror Company and the subsequent development of NAL as an autonomous subsidiary. In this section there are letters and papers reflecting the operations and preparatory maneuvering leading up to the merger, the merger itself, and the immediate aftermath. There are also letters and papers (mostly printed material) which chronicle the efforts of the Times Mirror Company to expand and diversify; a few personal letters; some correspondence and papers relating to Penguin Books, Ballantine Books, and the Overlook Press; correspondence and papers relating to Enoch's other publishing ventures and his work as a consultant; and transcripts of his oral history, Encounter with the Holocaust, which was videotaped at Hampshire College.

Container List

Box Contents
1

Personal correspondence, 1970s
Schmoller letters
Business letters

2-4 Personal finances, accounts, consultant's fees
5 New American Library correspondence and papers, 1960s
6-9 New American Library/Times Mirror merger
10 National Academy of Sciences correspondence
Victor Weybridge letters and papers
New English Library correspondence and minutes
11 Miscellaneous business correspondence
Newspapers project
International textbook publisher
12 New American Library/Littauer & Ullman
Hampshire College correspondence and transcript of oral history
Miscellaneous correspondence, 1970s

 

Melanie A. Yolles
June, 1999