The Book, Cat, & Cat Book Lovers Almanac

of historical trivia regarding books, cats, and other animals. Actually this blog has evolved so that it is described better as a blog about cats in history and culture. And we take as a theme the advice of Aldous Huxley: If you want to be a writer, get some cats. Don't forget to see the archived articles linked at the bottom of the page.

November 29, 2016

November 29, 1934

Klaus Flugge (November 29, 1934) founded a publishing house for children's literature: Andersen Press, named after Hans Christian Andersen. His parents were Werner and Emmi Flügge. He married, in 1964,  Joëlle Dansac. 

A Guardian article sketches some background to Flugge's career. "

"Klaus Flugge, who emigrated to America as an East German refugee in 1957 ....became a successful publisher."
....
[He] launched the careers of some of our best-loved picture book illustrators, from Quentin Blake and Chris Riddell to David McKee, Tony Ross, Michael Foreman and Emma Chichester Clark,....

The background to his founding the Andersen press in 1976 includes:

Klaus Flugge was born in Hamburg in 1934, apprenticed to a bookshop and sent to Book Trade School in Leipzig. He emigrated to America at the age of 23 as an East German refugee who spoke only German and Russian. After a variety of jobs, and two years as an American GI, he was offered a job working as a personal assistant to Lew Schwartz, owner of Abelard-Schuman publishing in New York. After only eighteen months Schwartz suggested he go to Europe to build up the very small list they had there and so he came to London in 1961. He launched Andersen Press – named after Hans Christian Andersen - in the autumn of 1976....

[
Random House has a holding in this publishing company.]
Now 82, Klaus Flugge is still at his desk at Andersen Press five days a week, in an office decorated with over 200 illustrated envelopes from the artists he works with. 

These envelopes were tributes,  artistic renderings and often had cats on them. Here is an example. This envelope was decorated by David McKee.




And this envelope was drawn by Satoshi Kitamura




Klaus Flugge won the Eleanor Farjeon Award for distinguished services to children’s books, in 1999.  His Who's Who article lists his hobbies as book collecting, jazz, and swimming.


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