J. M. DENT & SONS:
In 1904, Dent began to plan Everyman's Library, a series of one thousand classics to be published in an attractive format and sold at affordable prices, i.e., one shilling a volume. To meet the demand of production, Dent built the Temple Press. The publication of the Everyman Library began in 1906 and 152 titles were issued by the end of the first year. The momentum of the Everyman series broke in the second decade of the twentieth century. The Copyright Act of 1911 extended protection to fifty years after the author's death thus reducing the availability of Victorian texts and World War I delivered the double blow of inflation and shortages of supplies.
J.M. Dent, his sons Hugh and Jack, and Jack's son F.J. Martin Dent, constituted the board of directors in the 1920s. Hugh Dent joined the firm in 1909 and functioned as an editor for Everyman's Library; Jack joined the firm in 1915 and supervised the Temple Press; F.J. Martin Dent came in 1924 and directed the production department. After J.M. Dent's death on 9 May 1926, W.G. Taylor, the secretary of the firm since 1916, joined the board. Hugh R. Dent served as the chairman from 1926 to 1938, followed by Taylor from 1938 to 1963. Taylor was also managing director from 1934 to 1955. F.J. Martin Dent followed Taylor as managing director and chairman. Weidenfeld and Nicholson purchased J.M. Dent & Sons in January 1988 and moved the Dent staff to their offices at 91 Clapham Street, London.