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(The Wolf King by Joseph Wharton Lippincott, 1949 10th Pri...)
The Wolf King by Joseph Wharton Lippincott, 1949 10th Printing.
A dramatic and thrilling biography of the giant black wolf who had become a legend in his region of the Alberta wilderness. Settlers dreaded the long howl of the great wolf leader and the ringing chorus of the fierce pack in the northern night. Hunters and wardens alike were continually baffled and outwitted by the Wolf King's wild deeds and uncanny intelligence.
The smartest whelp of a litter of six, the black wolf learns fast and becomes a fighter and a leader. To read his story in the author's stirring narrative is almost to be- as the author was - on the rugged Alberta frontier, and to witness the Wolf King's battle for mastery over his kind in a mountain country where he can meet his human enemies on equal terms.
This is unquestionably one of the classics of American wild life. It hasheld its place inthe affectionof readers formany years.
Joseph Wharton Lippincott was an American author, publisher, and sportsman.
Background
Joseph Wharton Lippincott was born on February 28, 1887 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, the son of Joshua Bertram Lippincott and Joanna Wharton. Lippincott's maternal grandfather was Joseph Wharton, an industrialist who was a founder of Swarthmore College and helped to establish the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce at the University of Pennsylvania. Wharton and his family retained interest in the Wharton Tract, in southeastern New Jersey, that covered 148, 000 acres. This land was until the 1950's the largest privately owned acreage east of the Mississippi. His paternal grandfather, Joshua B. Lippincott, began his publishing career in 1827, bought out his employer in 1836, and founded the J. B. Lippincott Company. He acquired Grigg, Elliot, and Company in 1850 and incorporated J. B. Lippincott Company in 1885. At a young age, Lippincott met many important writers at his parents' home who contributed to Lippincott's Monthly Magazine (1868 - 1914). The humorist Bill Nye and the cartoonist Frederick Opper, according to Lippincott, were his greatest influences. "J. W. ," as he was called, spent almost a year in Wyoming on the same ranch where Owen Wister had researched material for The Virginian. While in Wyoming, he developed a love of horses and outdoor life.
Education
Lippincott graduated from the Episcopal Academy of Philadelphia, where he was an editor of the school magazine. In 1904 he enrolled at the Wharton School. Graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1908, Lippincott was awarded the Terry Prize for the highest class average.
Career
Lippincott served as a companion and courier for his grandfather Wharton and Andrew Carnegie while they traveled in Europe. He met Kaiser Wilhelm II on his yacht in Kiel, along with many of Germany's warlords. Carnegie's stories helped young Lippincott develop an interest in libraries. Lippincott began his publishing career as an office boy in 1908, then moved to dusting books in the shipping department. He claimed that this gave him an appreciation of clean literature.
Lippincott, who was promoted to vicepresident in 1915, served in the United States Naval Reserve during World War I. He became the fourth president of the family firm in 1926 and president of the National Association of Book Publishers in 1929. When he retired from the latter presidency in 1933, Lippincott gave a speech titled "Are the Classics Dying Out?". His controversial remarks on the increase of book production in the midst of the Great Depression captured headlines across the country. In 1940 the company merged with Carrick and Evans of New York City, a general publisher, and with Frederick A. Stokes of Philadelphia, which had an extensive list of juvenile books.
His many trips abroad for the company sealed friendships with English and other European authors, such as Hilaire Belloc, E. V. Lucas, Sir Hall Caine, and Sir Gilbert Parker, all of whom had published extensively with the family firm. In addition, Lippincott added the Lonsdale Library of Sports, Games, and Pastimes to the company. Published jointly with Seeley, Service and Company of London, the books were on boxing, big-game hunting in Africa, fox hunting, and cricket.
Lippincott became chairman of the board in 1949, holding this position until his retirement in 1959. Besides heading the family's publishing house, Lippincott was an accomplished writer and sportsman. All of his seventeen books for juveniles were technically correct yet pleasing to read. Many are still in print. His first book, Bun, a Wild Rabbit was published in 1918. It was followed by Red Ben, the Fox of Oak Ridge (1919). Wilderness Champion (1944) sold more than 25, 000 copies. The Wahoo Bobcat (1950) and Wilderness Champion were both selections of the Junior Literary Guild.
At six feet tall and weighing 165 pounds, Lippincott was an expert sportsman, and many of his expeditions were the basis of his novels. In 1933 he spent a month in the Yukon Territory. This trip was also the focus of his book The Wolf King (1933). Lippincott participated in big-game hunts in Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Germany, and Austria. Three of his trophy heads are among the largest on record. Lippincott served as master of the hounds of the Huntingdon Valley hunt, played polo, raced yachts, and showed dogs and horses.
Lippincott's love of books was also visible in his philanthropic activities. He served as a director of the Free Library of Philadelphia, the Athenaeum Library, and the Council of Books in Wartime. He was a member of the boards of the Philadelphia City Institute, Abingdon Hospital, the Mercantile Library, and the Franklin Institute. Lippincott was chairman of the board of libraries for the University of Pennsylvania and secretary and a member of the board of trustees for the Moore Institute of Art, Science, and Industry. He was also a supporter of the Academy of Natural Sciences. Lippincott died in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania.
Achievements
The J. B. Lippincott Company, under his leadership, opened an editorial branch in New York City in 1941 and its staff more than tripled. In 1944 the company established an employees' profit sharing trust (one of the first in the country). Lippincott wrote in total 17 books about animals and nature. With the support of the American Library Association, he also established the Joseph W. Lippincott Award in 1937. The award included a certificate and a monetary prize for outstanding achievement in librarianship. The award presentation was suspended during World War II and resumed in 1950.
Lippincott was a member of the National Geographical Society, the Pennsylvania Audubon Society, and the Zoological Society of Philadelphia.
Interests
Lippincott enjoyed pigeon shooting with Ernest Hemingway and deer hunting with F. Van Wyck Mason.
Connections
Lippincott married Elizabeth Schuyler Mills in October 1913. They had three children. His wife died in 1943, and Lippincott married Virginia Jones Mathieson on September 20, 1945.
