Marzani & Munsell (1955-1967) was an American book publisher of the mid-20th Century, based in Manhattan, which published liberal and leftist books, starting with False Witness by Harvey Matusow.[1]

Marzani & Munsell
Founded1954
FoundersCarl Marzani
Angus Cameron (publisher)
Country of originUnited States
Headquarters locationNew York City, New York, USA
Publication typesBooks

History

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After release from prison in 1951, Carl Marzani joined Cameron Associates and partnered with Angus Cameron to run Liberty Book Club. Marzani & Munsell formed as a book club (in an unclear relationship with Alexander Ector Orr Munsell, "that unusual combination of a practicing Christian and a practicing Marxist" per Carl Marzani,[2] and son and heir of Albert Henry Munsell) and also operated what had become the Library-Prometheus Book Club. Together, the two book clubs, with some 8,000 members, published and distributed many books following their progressive ideology.[3]

In a later interview, Marzani described his publishing house:

We also had a very distinguished list – we had the first book on the Rosenbergs, the first book on FBI informers,a the first book on black armed self-defense,b and so on. We also had an outlet for the blacklisted writers – we published novels and other writings by Ring Lardner Jr.,c Alvah Bessie, Abe Polonsky, Albert Maltz. We also did an enormous amount of pamphlets, four or five every year – on the Bay of Pigs, on Vietnam, the Warren Report – there wasn't a major issue we didn't put out something on. We were a major influence among two or three others – the National Guardian, Monthly Review – during the years I call the American resistance to McCarthyism.[4]

In 1959 when Cameron left for at job at Knopf, Marzani became president.[1] Marzani and Munsell publishing house "was destroyed in a mysterious fire" in 1966, ending the run of books, pamphlets, broadsheets and reprints.[1][3] Marzani later described the loss: "It destroyed our stock, our lists, everything, and we had no insurance."[4]

Alleged espionage

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According to allegations made in 1994 by Oleg Kalugin, a retired KGB officer, Marzani was a contact for the Soviet secret police agency, the KGB, while running Marzani & Munsell, and the KGB subsidized his publishing house in the 1960s.[5] Allegedly, the amounts were $15,000 in 1960, then a two-year grant in 1961 of $55,000.[3]

Legacy

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Harry Bridges (1937) corresponded with Marzani & Munsell

Tamiment Library at New York University houses papers of Marzani & Munsell, whose principle correspondents include: Angus Cameron (publisher), Herbert Aptheker, Calvin Benham Baldwin (aka "C.B. Baldwin" and "Beanie Baldwin"), Cedric Belfrage, Alvah Bessie, Herbert Biberman, Harry Bridges, E. Berry Burgum, W.E.B. Du Bois, Barrows Dunham, Howard Fast, Royal France, Stefan Heym, Albert E. Kahn, Ring Lardner Jr., Doris Lessing, Walter Lowenfels, Albert Maltz, A.J. Muste, Carey McWilliams (journalist), Truman J. Nelson, Victor Perlo, Edwin B. Smith, Edgar Snow, Joseph R. Starobin, Anna Louise Strong, Harry F. Ward, and Ella Winter.[1]

Titles

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Marzani & Munsell published first USA translation of Antonio Gramsci's writings
 
Marzani & Munsell published Robert F. Williams's Negroes with Guns.
  • 1955:
  • 1957:
    • The open Marxism of Antonio Gramsci[10]
  • 1959:
    • A visit to Soviet science[11]
    • World without war[12]
    • The doctor business[13]
    • Comrade Venka[14]
  • 1960:
  • 1961:
    • The new Germany and the old Nazis[22]
    • Cuba: prophetic island[23]
    • War and peace, and the problem of Berlin[24]
    • The road from Sharpeville[25]
    • Dollars and Sense of Disarmament (1961)[26]
    • Cuba versus CIA[27]
  • 1962:
  • 1963:
    • War and Peace in Vietnam[36]
    • A quarter-century of un-Americana: a tragico-comical memorabilia of HUAC[37]
    • Heusinger of the Fourth Reich[38]
    • The golden fleece: selling the good life to Americans[39]
    • People with strength in Monroe, North Carolina[40]
    • Dragon pink on old white[41]
  • 1964:
    • The mood of the nation (November 22–29, 1963)[42]
    • Oswald: assassin or fall guy?[43]
    • Bitter end in Southeast Asia[44]
    • The Yahoos[45]
    • Goldwater-ism[46]
    • The Goldwater coloring book[47]
    • The Black Anglo-Saxons[48]
    • Soul of the Republic: The Negro Today[49]
  • 1965:
  • 1966:
    • The gaps in the Warren report[59]
    • Critical reactions to the Warren report[60]
    • Concentration camps USA[61]
    • Harlem stirs[62]
    • German Hand on the Nuclear Trigger[63]
    • The Silent Slaughter[64]
    • Johnson's War[65]

People

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Marzani & Munsell published Cuba: Prophetic Island by Waldo Frank
 
Marzani & Munsell published A visit to Soviet science by Stefan Heym

Officers

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Authors

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Translators

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See also

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Notes

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^a Harvey Matusow's False Witness.
^b Robert F. Williams' Negroes with Guns.
^c Referring to Ring Lardner Jr.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Guide to the Carl Aldo Marzani Papers TAM 154". Tamiment Library. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  2. ^ Nickerson, Dorothy (23 July 2015). "Alexander Ector Orr Munsell". Munsell Color. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Aldrich, Richard J. (2013). "CIA History as a Cold War Battleground: The Forgotten First Wave of Agency Narratives". In Moran, Christopher R.; Murphy, Christopher J. (eds.). Intelligence Studies in Britain and the US: Historiography Since 1945. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. pp. 31–38. ISBN 978-0748677566. OCLC 854711000. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  4. ^ a b Marzani, Carl; Crowdus, Gary; Lenny, Rubenstein (Spring 1976). "UNION FILMS: An Interview with Carl Marzani". Cinéaste. 7 (2): 34. JSTOR 42683496. Retrieved 19 August 2021 – via JSTOR.
  5. ^ Kalugin, Oleg (2009). Spymaster : my thirty-two years in intelligence and espionage against the west. New York, NY: Basic Books. ISBN 978-0786743667. OCLC 488564977. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Letter from Marzani and Munsell Publishers, 1968". San Diego State University. June 1968. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  7. ^ Matusow, Harvey (1955). False Witness. Cameron & Kahn. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  8. ^ Matusow, Harvey (1955). False Witness. Cameron & Kahn. LCCN 55001227. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  9. ^ * Boyer, Richard Owen; Morais, Herbert M. (1955). Labor's untold story. New York: Marzani & Munsell. ISBN 0916180018. OCLC 3996783. OL 4874021M. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  10. ^ Gramsci, Antonio (1957). The open Marxism of Antonio Gramsci. Translated by Marzani, Carl. New York: Cameron. OCLC 612098526. Retrieved 1 March 2021.. With annotations by Marzani.
  11. ^ Heym, Stefan (1959). A visit to Soviet science. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 644208573. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  12. ^ Bernal, J. D. (1959). World without war. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 503155. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  13. ^ Carter, Richard (1959). The doctor business. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 914948753.
  14. ^ Nilin, Pavel (1959). Comrade Venka. Translated by Barnes, Joseph. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 2776873.
  15. ^ Boffa, Giuseppe (1960). Inside the Khrushchev Era. Translated by Marzani, Carl. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 837045483.
  16. ^ Merriam, Eve (1960). The double bed from the feminine side. New York: Marzani & Munsell. ISBN 0020768605. OCLC 902214117. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  17. ^ Williams, William Appleman (1960). The tragedy of American diplomacy. New York: Marzani & Munsell. ISBN 0393304930. OCLC 60852776. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  18. ^ Dunham, Barrows (1960). The artist in society. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 1024918. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  19. ^ Morris, Edita (1960). The flowers of Hiroshima. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 7476282. OL 24401709M. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  20. ^ Strong, Anna Louise (1960). The rise of the people's communes in China. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 4966035. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  21. ^ Aptheker, Herbert (1960). The world of C. Wright Mills. New York: Marzani & Munsell. ISBN 0527030031. OCLC 463903199. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  22. ^ Tetens, Tete Harens (1961). The new Germany and the old Nazis. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 5307316.
  23. ^ Frank, Waldo David (1961). Cuba: prophetic island. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 1055877064. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  24. ^ Neal, Fred Warner (1961). War and peace, and the problem of Berlin: Clarmont summer session convocation lecture, July 20, 1961. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 1194621490. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  25. ^ Sachs, Bernard (1961). The road from Sharpeville. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 414582. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  26. ^ Marzani, Carl; Perlo, Victor (1960). Dollars and sense of disarmament. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 574398435. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  27. ^ Light, Robert E.; Marzani, Carl (1961). Cuba versus CIA (PDF). New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 924365158. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  28. ^ Aptheker, Herbert (1962). The Era of McCarthyism. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 1087059314. Originally published as History and Reality. New York: Cameron Associates. 1955. OCLC 556559711. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  29. ^ Aptheker, Herbert (1962). The Negro today. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 805375821. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  30. ^ Marzani, Carl (1962). The Shelter hoax and foreign policy. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 4417974.
  31. ^ Baran, Paul A. (1962). The political economy of growth (2nd ed.). New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 883701106. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  32. ^ Heinemann, Margot (1962). The adventurers. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 1127920.
  33. ^ Blackett, Baron Blackett, P. M. S.; Marzani, Carl; Huberman, Leo; Sweezy, Paul M. (1962). The military background to disarmament. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 37914589.
  34. ^ Williams, Robert F. (1962). Negroes with Guns. With essays by Martin Luther King Jr. and Truman Nelson. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 340047.
  35. ^ Snow, Edgar (1962). China, Russia and the U.S.A. Originally published as the last seven chapters of The other side of the river: Red China today. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 610268722. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  36. ^ Snow, Edgar (1963). War and Peace in Vietnam. Originally published as a chapter in The other side of the river: Red China today, and previously published in China, Russia and the U.S.A. (above). New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 1200369650. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  37. ^ Pomerantz, Charlotte, ed. (1963). A quarter-century of un-Americana: a tragico-comical memorabilia of HUAC. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 970934397.
  38. ^ Allen, Jr., Charles R. (1963). Heusinger of the Fourth Reich. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 1303145. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  39. ^ Seldin, Joseph J. (1963). The golden fleece: selling the good life to Americans. New York: Marzani & Munsell. ISBN 0405080603. OCLC 1035371498.
  40. ^ Nelson, Truman (1963). People with strength in Monroe, North Carolina. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 843867049.
  41. ^ Bonosky, Phillip (1963). Dragon pink on old white. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 249242406.
  42. ^ Pomerantz, Charlotte, ed. (1964). The mood of the nation (November 22-29, 1963): A news documentary of a steadfast citizenry. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 943158279.
  43. ^ Joesten, Joachim (1964). Oswald: assassin or fall guy?. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 461574074.
  44. ^ Perlo, Victor; Goshal, Kumar (1964). Bitter end in Southeast Asia. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 869091805.
  45. ^ Newberry, Mike (1964). The Yahoos. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 1081125. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  46. ^ Newberry, Mike (1964). Goldwater-ism. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 5910247.
  47. ^ Wright, Fred (1964). The Goldwater coloring book. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 14005938.
  48. ^ Hare, Nathan (1964). The Black Anglo-Saxons. New York: Marzani & Munsell. ISBN 0020768605. OCLC 2143539. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  49. ^ Aptheker, Herbert (1964). Soul of the Republic: The Negro Today. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 1086693911. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  50. ^ Marzani, Carl (1965). The Conscience of the Senate on the Vietnam War. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 10764500.
  51. ^ MacDougall, Curtis Daniel (1965). Gideon's Army. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 1074676.
  52. ^ Gillman, Joseph M. (1965). Prosperity in crisis. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 833638. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  53. ^ Still, Joseph William (1965). Peace by finesse (2nd ed.). New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 22570160.
  54. ^ Schappes, Morris U. (1965). A pictorial history of the Jews in the United States : a scholarly history, 1654 to the present. Foreword by David de Sola Pool. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 613493202.
  55. ^ Dreher, Carl (1965). Automation : what it is, how it works, who can use it. introduction by Philip Morrison; illustrated by Herb Lebowitz. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 750721881.
  56. ^ Allen, Jr., Charles R. (1965). Journey to the Soviet Trade Unions: An American Eyewitness Report. With 65 photographs by the author. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 675036.
  57. ^ Feinberg, Abraham L. (1965). Storm the gates of Jericho. Introduction by Charles R. Allen, Jr. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 924882229.
  58. ^ What to do about Vietnam?. An abridgement of Thoreau's 1849 essay, "Civil Disobedience". New York: Marzani & Munsell. 1965. OCLC 913722936.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  59. ^ Joesten, Joachim (1966). The gaps in the Warren report. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 2705558. This material is reprinted from the author's Oswald: assassin or fall guy.
  60. ^ Critical reactions to the Warren report. New York: Marzani & Munsell. 1966. OCLC 18601297.
  61. ^ Allen, Jr., Charles R. (1966). Concentration camps USA. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 1049770360.
  62. ^ Halstead, Fred (1966). Harlem stirs. Prologue by John O. Killens; photography by Anthony Aviles and Don Charles. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 9545106.
  63. ^ Allen, Jr., Charles R. (1966). German Hand on the Nuclear Trigger. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 250481385.
  64. ^ Norden, Eric; Worthy, William; March, Andrew; Lane, Mark (1966). The Silent Slaughter: the role of the United States in the Indonesian massacre. Introduction by Bertrand Russell. New York: Marzani & Munsell for Youth Against War and Fascism. OCLC 1075621167. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  65. ^ Johnson's War. New York: Marzani & Munsell. OCLC 606958417.
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