Nobel prize winners and stocking fillers – 65 years in the murky waters of London publishing

Ernest Hecht set up Souvenir Press from his bedroom in 1951. Now, following the death of Lord Weidenfeld, he is the last of the group of remarkable Jewish émigrés who transformed postwar British publishingA 65th birthday is a milestone but – now the official retirement age has been abolished – not that big a deal. A medium to large company celebrating 65 years in business is just looking for cheap publicity. But a one-man band of a company that has lasted 65 years? It’s a business in which it’s now thought only sprawling megacorps can possibly survive.And yet, still swimming merrily in the murky waters of London publishing, there amid the whales, sharks and giant squid, is this totally improbable tiddler: Souvenir Press, founded in 1951 by 21-year-old Ernest Hecht in his bedroom in Bayswater, London; still run in 2016 by 86-year-old Ernest Hecht OBE from his charmingly dotty HQ opposite the British Museum, where it has been for the past 42 years. It is an extraordinary story, to put it mildly. Related: Jewish community mark 75th anniversary of Kindertransport Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2016-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #lord weidenfeld #ernest hecht #british museum #extraordinary story

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Folio Magazine | 2011-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dikötter scoops Samuel Johnson Prize

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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French publisher La Martinière joins the iBookstore.

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ AllThingsD | 2011-07-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Walker Books launches prize in tribute to late founder

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The New York Times | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harvill Secker to publish death row lawyer memoir

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[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-06-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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