Laird & Lee

Laird & Lee was a Chicago-based book publisher known for its dime novel fiction and dictionaries. Its paperbacks were primarily distributed at railroads and newsstands instead of bookstores.[1] The firm was founded in 1883 by Frederick C. Laird (c. 1863 - ) and William Henry Lee (c. 1863- 1913). Lee bought out Laird in 1894. Their publications included the Pinkerton Detective Series (1887-1901).

After Lee died in 1913 without heirs to his $200,000 fortune, the firm eventually became a division of Laidlaw Brothers, which was a division of Albert Whitman & Company.[2][3][4]

Some mystery surrounded Lee's background, and upon his death it was reported that he was a light skinned black, which if true would have made him one of the first black publishers in the United States.[5][6][7][8]

Authors published by Laird & Lee include Opie Read and Ignatius L. Donnelly.