Ormond Gerald Smith was an American publisher. Among the best known of Smith's publications were the Frank Merriwell stories.
Background
Ormond was born on August 30, 1860 in New York City, New York, United States, the eldest son of Francis Shubael and Mary (Duff) Smith. His father had been for some years a New York publisher and was able to give the boy schooling advantages that were exceptional for that day and place.
Education
Ormond's preparation for college was received for the most part in France and England. When he returned to America he entered Harvard College, where he was graduated with the degree of A. B. in 1883.
Career
After studies he associated himself with the publishing business established by his father in 1855, and at his death in 1887 became head of the firm. The output of the house of Street & Smith consisted chiefly of cheap tales of American adventure and achievement, issued periodically and intended mainly for juvenile readers. Smith made no radical change in the policy or methods of the firm but gradually improved standards and sought to secure gifted writers. In this effort he was partially successful.
The Nugget Library, issued weekly at five cents a copy and featuring stories of Diamond Dick, soon became one of Smith's most important ventures. A companion series, in the ten-cent grade, was the Log Cabin Library, featuring the careers of Frank and Jesse James and some of their associates.
During the nineties dime-novel interest shifted gradually from Western scenes and exploits to detective stories, school-day careers, and success narratives. In this transition period Smith kept a large staff of writers busily employed. For a story 25, 000 words in length the author would receive fifty dollars. Some writers were under contract to turn in 20, 000 words a week. This achievement occurred when the Nick Carter series, to which a galaxy of writers contributed, was at the height of its popularity.
After fifteen years of producing stories of adventure, Smith made a distinct innovation in his program by launching a popular illustrated magazine of higher-class fiction, poetry, and miscellany, Ainslee's, 1898, which became a lively, if not a formidable, rival of Munsey's, McClure's, and the Cosmopolitan.
In his later years Smith gave increasing thought and effort to the furthering of good relations between the French and American peoples. He was particularly interested in the Museum of French Art in New York City. He was a trustee and in 1929 president of the French Institute in the United States, to which he had given a group of buildings on Sixtieth Street in New York City. He was also interested in hospital work and served as director and vice-president of the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary and as vice-president of the New York Dispensary.
Smith's death was the result of a cerebral hemorrhage. He died in Manhattan.
Achievements
Membership
Ormond was a member Society of the War of 1812, the St. Nicholas Society, and the Society of Colonial Wars.
Connections
In December 1899 he was married to Grace Hewitt Pellette. She died in 1923, leaving a son, Gerald Hewitt, who survived his father.