Sampson R. Urbino (1818–1896), also known as S.R. Urbino, was a book dealer, publisher, and library owner in Boston, Massachusetts, in the 19th century. He focused on books in languages other than English.

Emblem of S.R. Urbino, publisher, Boston, 1870

Prior to bookselling, Urbino worked as a teacher in Boston.[1] In the mid-1850s he bought "Miss Elizabeth P. Peabody's circulating library and book-store on West Street. He developed the library and also added German, French, and books in other foreign languages to his stock. He then ... began publishing the well-known series of Ahn's and Ollendorf's readers and grammars, and other text-books."[2][3] The business operated from an office on Summer Street (ca.1856)[4] Winter Street (ca.1857-1861)[5] School Street (ca.1864-1865)[6] and Bromfield Street (ca.1870).

Advertisement for S.R. Urbino, School Street, Boston, 1864

Urbino sold part of his textbook enterprise "to Henry Holt & Co. shortly before retiring from business in 1865. He sold his business to De Vries, Ibarra & Co., to whom he also transferred the services of Mr. Carl Schoenhof and Miss Fanny Moeller."[7]

He supported the Free Soil Party;[8] the 20th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War;[9] and the National Liberal League.[10] He belonged to the American Association for the Promotion of Social Science.[11] In 1889 "S.R. Urbino and 30 others" presented a petition to the Massachusetts House of Representatives asking for "legislation providing that one-third of the members of school committees in cities and towns shall be women."[12]

Urbino lived in Roxbury and Newton, Massachusetts, and was married to Levina Buoncuore Urbino, a writer and translator.[13][14]

See also

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Published by S.R. Urbino

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  • L. Boncoeur [i.e. Levina Buoncuore Urbino]. L'instructeur de l'enfrance: (A first book for children), 2nd ed. 1864
  • Goethe. Faust, Eine Tragoedie von Goethe: Erster Theil. With English notes. 1864.
  • Goethe, E.C.F. Krauss. Iphigenie auf Tauris. With English notes. 1865.
  • Goethe, E.C.F. Krauss. Hermann und Dorothea. With English notes. 1866.
  • Explanatory text to S.R. Urbino's charts of the animal kingdom. 1869. "Revised and corrected by Samuel Kneeland" Google books
  • L.B. Cuore [i.e. Levina Buoncuore Urbino]. Italian conversation-grammar, 5th ed. 1870 Google books
  • Emil Otto. German conversation-grammar, 21st ed. 1870.
  • M. Lamé Fleury; translated by Susan M. Lane. Ancient history told to children. 1870 Google books
  • Eugénie Foa. Le petit Robinson de Paris, 4th ed. 1870

References

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  1. ^ Boston Directory. 1852
  2. ^ Publishers Weekly, April 4, 1896 Google books
  3. ^ For context, see: List of libraries in 19th-century Boston, Massachusetts
  4. ^ Boston Almanac. 1856
  5. ^ Boston Almanac, 1857, 1859; Boston Directory, 1861; Boston commercial directory for 1871
  6. ^ Boston Directory, 1864; Boston Almanac, 1865
  7. ^ Publishers Weekly, April 4, 1896
  8. ^ Reunion of the Free soilers of 1848-1852, at the Parker House, Boston, Massachusetts, June 28, 1888. Cambridge: Wilson, 1888
  9. ^ Richard F. Miller. Harvard's Civil War: a history of the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. UPNE, 2005
  10. ^ Equal rights in religion: Report of the Centennial Congress of Liberals, and organization of the National Liberal League, at Philadelphia, on the fourth of July, 1876. Boston: National Liberal League, 1876
  11. ^ Constitution, address, and list of members of the American Association for the Promotion of Social Science, with the questions proposed for discussion: to which are added minutes of the transactions of the association. Boston: Wright & Potter. 1866. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  12. ^ Journal of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Jan. 24, 1889
  13. ^ William Cushing. Initials and pseudonyms: a dictionary of literary disguises, Volume 1. NY: T. Y. Crowell & Co., 1885
  14. ^ Directory of the town of Newton. 1871