Editing Funk & Wagnalls

{{short description|American publisher}}
{{Infobox publisher
| image        = [[File:Funk & Wagnalls Company Logo (Hoyt, 1922).jpg|100px]]
| caption      = Logo of Funk and Wagnalls from a 1922 edition of Hoyt's ''Cyclopedia of Quotations''
| parent       = 
| status       = Defunct 2009
| founded      = 1875
| founder      = [[Isaac Kaufmann Funk]]
| successor    = [[World Book Encyclopedia|World Book]]
| country      = [[United States]]
| headquarters = 
| distribution = 
| keypeople    = George Alfred Hartley (key financial contributor)
| publications = [[Reference work]]s
| topics       = 
| genre        = 
| imprints     = 
| revenue      = 
| numemployees = 
| nasdaq       = 
| url          = 
}}
'''Funk & Wagnalls''' was an American [[publisher]] known for its [[reference work]]s, including ''A Standard Dictionary of the English Language'' (1st ed. 1893–5), and the ''Funk & Wagnalls Standard Encyclopedia'' (25 volumes, 1st ed. 1912).<ref name="FW1996">Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia, 1996</ref>

The encyclopedia was renamed ''Funk & Wagnalls New Standard Encyclopedia'' in 1931 and in 1945, it was known as ''New Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia'', ''Universal Standard Encyclopedia'', ''Funk & Wagnalls Standard Reference Encyclopedia'', and ''Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia'' (29 volumes, 1st ed. 1971).<ref name="FW1996" />

The last printing of ''Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia'' was in 1997. {{As of|2025}}, annual Yearbooks are still in production.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

The '''I.K. Funk & Company''', founded in 1875, was renamed '''Funk & Wagnalls Company''' after two years, and later became '''Funk & Wagnalls Inc.''', then '''Funk & Wagnalls Corporation'''.<ref name="FW1996" />

==History==

[[Isaac Kaufmann Funk]] founded the business in 1875 as I.K. Funk & Company.<ref name="FW1996" /> In 1877, [[Adam Willis Wagnalls]], one of Funk's classmates at Wittenberg College (now [[Wittenberg University]]), joined the firm as a partner and the name of the firm was changed to Funk & Wagnalls Company.

During its early years, Funk & Wagnalls Company published religious books. The publication of ''[[The Literary Digest]]'' in 1890 marked a shift to publishing of general reference [[dictionary|dictionaries]] and [[encyclopedia]]s. The firm published ''The Standard Dictionary of the English Language'' <sup>({{OCLC|19715240}})</sup> in 2 volumes in 1893 and 1895, and ''Funk & Wagnalls Standard Encyclopedia'' <sup>({{OCLC|1802064}})</sup> in 1912.

In 1913, the ''New Standard Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language'' was published under the supervision of Isaac K. Funk (Editor-in-Chief). The ''New Standard Unabridged Dictionary'' was revised until 1943, a later edition that was also supervised by Charles Earl Funk.

The encyclopedia was based upon ''[[Chambers's Encyclopaedia]]'':
"Especially are we indebted to the famous ''Chambers's Encyclopaedia''&nbsp;... With its publishers we have arranged to draw upon its stores as freely as we have found it of advantage so to do."<ref>Publishers' Preface, ''Funk & Wagnalls Standard Encyclopedia'', 1912</ref>

[[Wilfred J. Funk]], the son of Isaac Funk, was president of the company from 1925 to 1940.

In 1934, Funk & Wagnalls started the Literary Digest Books imprint. It launched with seven titles with up to twenty-five a year intended.<ref>"Announcing Literary Digest Books," ''[[Publishers Weekly|Publishers' Weekly]]'', January 27, 1934.</ref> The imprint lasted into mid-1935.

Unicorn Press (later known as the Standard Reference Work Publishing Co.) obtained the rights to publish the encyclopedia, and by 1953 that firm began to sell the encyclopedia through a [[supermarket]] [[continuity marketing]] campaign,<ref name="FW1996" /> encouraging consumers to include the latest volume of the encyclopedia on their [[shopping list]]s. Grocery stores in the 1970s in the [[Midwest]] (Chicago – Jewel Grocers) typically kept about four volumes in a rotation, dropping the last and adding the latest until all volumes could be acquired with the initial first volume being 99 cents. The first several volumes were gold painted along the edges and the later volumes were not. A volume was typically priced at $2.99, but toward the later volumes the price had increased with the [[1973–75 recession|inflation of the 1970s]]. If one did not go shopping on a weekly basis, or delivery was spotty, there was a good chance that a volume might be missed to complete the set. The encyclopedia was also sold as a mail order set of 36(?) volumes; one volume a month.

Also sold in grocery stores, one volume at a time, was the ''Family Library Of Great Music'', a 22-album series of classical recordings. One famous composer was highlighted in each release. The records were manufactured exclusively for Funk & Wagnalls by RCA Custom.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/label/285292-Family-Library-Of-Great-Music|title=Family Library of Great Music|website=[[Discogs]]}}</ref>

In 1965, Funk & Wagnalls Co. was sold to ''[[Reader's Digest]]''.

In 1971, the company, now Funk and Wagnalls, Incorporated, was sold to [[Dun & Bradstreet]].<ref>{{Cite news| issn = 0362-4331| last = Smith| first = William D.| title = Merger News| work = The New York Times| access-date = 2018-11-24| date = 1971-02-02| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1971/02/02/archives/ashland-seeking-home-oil-control-kentucky-company-holding-talks.html}}</ref> Dun and Bradstreet retained ''Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia'', but other reference works were relinquished to other publishers.<ref name="FW1996" />

In 1984, Dun & Bradstreet sold Funk & Wagnalls, Inc., to a group of Funk & Wagnalls executives, who in turn sold it to [[Field Enterprises|Field Corporation]] in 1988.<ref name="FW1996" /><ref>{{Cite news| issn = 0362-4331| last = Fabrikant| first = Geraldine| title = THE MEDIA BUSINESS; Field Publications Agrees To Buy Funk & Wagnalls| work = The New York Times| access-date = 2018-11-24| date = 1988-05-27| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/27/business/the-media-business-field-publications-agrees-to-buy-funk-wagnalls.html}}</ref>

In 1991, the company was sold to [[K-III|K-III Holdings, Inc]], and then in 1993 Funk & Wagnalls Corporation acquired the ''[[World Almanac]]''.<ref>{{Cite news| issn = 0362-4331| last = Hicks| first = Jonathan P.| title = COMPANY NEWS; K-III Holdings to Buy Field Assets| work = The New York Times| access-date = 2018-11-24| date = 1990-12-22| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/22/business/company-news-k-iii-holdings-to-buy-field-assets.html}}</ref><ref name="FW1996" />

After failing to purchase rights to the text of the ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' and ''World Book Encyclopedia'' for its ''[[Encarta]]'' digital encyclopedia, [[Microsoft]] reluctantly used (under license) the text of Funk & Wagnalls encyclopedia for the first editions of its encyclopedia. This licensed text was gradually replaced over the following years with content Microsoft created itself.<ref>Randall E. Stross, ''The Microsoft Way: The Real Story of How the Company Outsmarts its Competition'' (Reading: Addison-Wesley, 1996), pp. 81f, 91f</ref>

In 1998, as part of the Information division of [[RentPath|Primedia Inc.]] (the renamed K-III), the encyclopedia content appeared on the Web site "funkandwagnalls.com". This short-lived venture was shut down in 2001.

[[Ripplewood Holdings]] bought Primedia's education division in 1999, which became part of [[Reader's Digest Association]] in 2007. In 2009, Funk & Wagnalls was acquired by ''[[World Book Encyclopedia]]''.<ref>{{cite web | title = World Book Launches New Co-Edition Business under Funk & Wagnalls Brand | publisher = Business Wire | access-date = 2014-07-08 | date = 2010-06-23 | url = http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100623006207/en/World-Book-Launches-Co-Edition-Business-Funk-Wagnalls#.U7t41LEn-Q4 }}</ref>

==Publications==
* 18?? – ''The Preacher's Homiletic Commentary on the Old Testament''
* 18?? – ''The Preacher's Homiletic Commentary on the New Testament''
* 1890 – ''[[The Literary Digest]]''
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=HOa3JiTnPS0C 1891 – ''The Encyclopedia of Missions'']
* 1893–95 – ''The Standard Dictionary of the English Language''
* 1901/1906 – ''[[The Jewish Encyclopedia]]'', 12 volumes
* 1904 - ''The Works of Edgar Allan Poe'', 10 volumes
* 1905 — ''Mrs. Maybrick's Own Story: My Fifteen Lost Years'' by [[Florence Maybrick]]
* 1906 – ''The World's Famous Orations'', 10 volume set
* 1909 – ''Standard Bible Dictionary''
* 1912 – ''Funk & Wagnalls Standard Encyclopedia''
* 1913–1943 ''The New Standard Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language'', Two volumes
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=003aAAAAMAAJ 1915 – ''Women of all nations: a record of their characteristics, habits, manners, customs, and influence, Volume 1'']
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=BE7aAAAAMAAJ 1915 – ''Women of all nations: a record of their characteristics, habits, manners, customs, and influence, Volume 2'']
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=IU7aAAAAMAAJ 1915 – ''Women of all nations: a record of their characteristics, habits, manners, customs, and influence, Volume 3'']
* 1920 – ''Funk and Wagnall's Student's Standard Dictionary of the English language'' [Hardcover]
* 1927 – ''The World's One Hundred Best Short Stories'', 10 volumes
* 1929 – ''The World's Best 100 Detective Stories'', in 10 volumes
* 1929 – ''Pocket Library of the World's Essential Knowledge'', 10 volumes
* 1929 – ''The World's 1000 Best Poems'', 10 volumes
* 1936 – ''A New Standard Bible Dictionary''
* 1946 – ''Funk and Wagnalls New Practical Standard Dictionary'', 2 volumes Re-Copyrighted in 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954 1955 ***First hand account from volumes dated 1955.
* 1949/50 – ''[[Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend]]'', 2 volumes. A one-volume edition with minor revisions was released in 1972.
* 1957 – ''The Fashion Dictionary''
* 19?? – ''Funk & Wagnalls Standard Handbook of Synonyms, Antonyms, and Prepositions''
* 1968 – ''Handbook of Indoor Games & Stunts'' [Paperbook F58]
* 1971 – ''Standard Dictionary of the English Language (International Edition)''
* 19?? – ''Poetry handbook; a dictionary of terms''
* 1971 – ''Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia''
* 1973 – ''Funk & Wagnalls Guide to modern world literature''
* 1974 – ''Funk & Wagnalls Wildlife Encyclopedia''
* 1974 – ''Funk & Wagnalls Standard Desk Dictionary (2nd Edition)''
* 1980 – ''The New Funk & Wagnalls Illustrated Wildlife Encyclopedia''
* 1986 – ''Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia of Science''
* 1996 – ''Funk & Wagnalls World Atlas''<ref>{{cite book| title=Funk & Wagnalls World Atlas| year=1996| publisher=Funk & Wagnalls| isbn=978-0834301047| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zs1HAAAACAAJ&q=funk+%26+wagnalls+world+atlas| via=Google Books}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
During certain scenes of banter between [[Dan Rowan]] and [[Dick Martin (comedian)|Dick Martin]] on the NBC comedy-variety show ''[[Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In]]'', after a particular anecdote of [[trivia]] or [[wisdom]], Dick Martin would close with: "Look ''that'' up in your Funk & Wagnalls!"{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} Sales of the Funk & Wagnalls dictionary reportedly increased by 30% as a result of this recurring joke.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

{{stack|}}
On ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]]'', sidekick [[Ed McMahon]] would begin each "[[Carnac the Magnificent]]" sketch by explaining that the envelopes he would hand to [[Johnny Carson]] (in character as "Carnac") had been: "...hermetically sealed in a [[mayonnaise]] jar on Funk and Wagnall's porch since noon today!" The envelopes contained questions, to which "Carnac" would divine the answers by reading a script on his desk.

In an episode of ''[[South Park]]'' (Season 7, Episode 1) entitled "[[Cancelled (South Park)|Cancelled]]", the character Eric Cartman is quoted as saying to his friends Stan, Kyle, and Kenny "What the Funk & Wagnalls are you guys talking about?", as the other boys are discussing a past memory of aliens abducting Cartman, which was a reference to the show's pilot episode.

In season 1, episode 21 of "[[The West Wing|West Wing]]", the character of C.J. tells the character of Toby, "Thank you, Funk and Wagnall's." Which Toby turns to another character Ginger as they are walking away from C.J., "What'd she call me?".  Ginger replies, "Funk and Wagnall's. They make the dictionary." Toby replies, "I know who Funk and Wagnall's are."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.westwingtranscripts.com/search.php?flag=getTranscript&id=21&keyword=funk | title=Search or Browse the West Wing Transcripts -- View or Search transcripts and summaries }}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.wagnallslibrary.org/ The Wagnalls Memorial Library]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Funk and Wagnalls}}
[[Category:American companies established in 1875]]
[[Category:Publishing companies established in 1875]]
[[Category:American encyclopedias]]
[[Category:English-language encyclopedias]]
[[Category:Defunct book publishing companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Lists of books]]
[[Category:20th-century encyclopedias]]
[[Category:19th-century encyclopedias]]