John Bartlett's Familiar Quotations would
never have seen the light of day had its author not financed its first three editions in
l855. Once it proved its popularity, however, the book was published by Little Brown &
Co.
The Elements of Style, one of the most delightful books ever written
on the art of writing, was published privately in 1918 by a Cornell professor, William
Strunk, Jr. Years later, E.B. White, Strunk's former student, rediscovered it and wrote a
piece about it in The New Yorker.
The Macmillan Co. then republished the book, today an undisputed
classic and required reading in schools and colleges.
