George Haven Putnam

“Lincoln had the great gift of being able to see all sides of a question.”

“The first purpose of a copyright law is to protect the author in his property.”

“The nation that fails to protect its authors in the property of their productions is not only doing injustice to a class of its citizens, but is committing a wrong against its own future.”

“It is the publisher who has to take the initial risk in the production of a book.”

“It is... through the books that it issues that a publishing house makes its influence felt and secures its own 'good-will' or reputation.”

“The ideal publisher is a man of letters, with a keen business instinct.”

“A publisher is a man who is supposed to be a judge of literature, and also a good business man.”

“A publisher who has any proper sense of his responsibilities is not a mere manufacturer and vendor of books.”

“The production of books for a community constitutes a trust. The publisher is a trustee for the author and for the public.”

“The business of the publisher is to make public in the form of a book the literary work of the author.”

“The function of the publisher is to serve as an intermediary, a middleman, between the producer of the book, the author, and the consumers of the book, the public.”