The Macmillan Company of Canada in the 1930s

This paper examines the Macmillan Company of Canada, a major Canadian book publishing house, and the factors that affected its Canadian publishing in the 1930s. After the early history of the company is sketched, the number and types of Canadian titles that were published during each year of the 1930s are reviewed. In order to explain the company’s Canadian publication lists for the decade, a variety of factors are discussed throughout the paper. These include the nationalistic orientation and decision-making of Hugh Eayrs (the company’s president), Canadian demography, the Great Depression, the Americanization of Canadian education, and demand management by American publishing firms.