Background
Daniel Appleton was born on December 10, 1785 in Essex, Massachusetts, United States, the son of Daniel and Lydia (Ela) Appleton.
Daniel Appleton was born on December 10, 1785 in Essex, Massachusetts, United States, the son of Daniel and Lydia (Ela) Appleton.
He received only a limited school education.
He started in business in his native town, keeping a general store. Some years later he sought Boston as a larger field of endeavor and sold "English goods" at 21 Broad St.
New York, however, in 1826, with a population of about 165, 000, was four times as large as Boston and just the place for this man of ambition and energy. During these years the "English goods" which Appleton imported began to include books, and there are many allusions to the ruddy-faced proprietor picturesquely dressed "in blue coat with bright buttons, a light buff vest and blue pants, and looking not unlike Daniel Webster, " giving careful heed to the requests of his book-loving patrons.
His young son, William H. Appleton, was encouraged to build up a "book department, " and soon both father and son were ready to risk their futures on the book business alone.
Book publishing was first undertaken in 1831, and W. Mason's Crumbs from the Master's Table, a microscopic volume appeared with the imprint, "D. Appleton. "
Another tiny affair with the title Gospel Seeds was published in the same year, and a third, in 1832, bore the title The Refuge Containing the Righteous Man's Habitation in the Time of Plague and Pestilence. The firm name "D. Appleton & Co. " dates from January 27, 1838, when Daniel took William H. into partnership. The desire which the father expressed at that time that the firm name should continue forever unchanged has been respected.
An entirely new line of books that Appleton was one of the first to put out was for children's use. Books in Spanish, particularly for South American countries, began to be published by him in the forties and found a ready sale. In the choice of his publications Appleton had, as his contemporaries testify, "a scrupulous regard for the interests of Religion and Morality. "
He retired from business in 1848 and died one year later.
He married Hannah Adams of Andover, Massachussets, May 4, 1813. They had six sons and two daughters.