The publishing house J. M. Dent and Company was founded in 1888 by Joseph Malaby Dent. Dent had been a bookbinder in London since 1867, and his interest in fine craftmanship is evident in the early work of his publishing firm. A working class autodidact, Dent aspired to publish editions of classic works which working class people could afford. He initiated series of classics in quality bindings, the first being the Temple Library, in which he published great works of English literature, such as the works of Shakespeare in 40 volumes. The most comprehensive and famous of Dent's book series was the Everyman Library, which commenced in 1906, and which achieved 1236 titles and 60 million sales by 1975.
Joseph Dent's sons joined him in the company, which became J. M. Dent and Sons in 1909. J. M. Dent became a major British publisher of the twentieth century, which apart from reprinted classics, published a broad range of general titles, including contemporary fiction and poetry, textbooks, children's books, and travel guides. The expansion of their Children's Book Department in 1936 is outlined in the November issue of All About Books. The company established branches world-wide. The Australian branch, operating in Melbourne, published a range of Australian titles in the 1980s, including many children's books.
The company was purchased by Weidenfeld and Nicolson in 1988, which was bought by the Orion Publishing Group in the early 1990s. Orion continues the Everyman imprint with its 'Everyman Classics' series.
