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Geoffrey Bles

1886 – 1957

British publisher

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About Geoffrey Bles

Lived 1886 – 1957 (aged 70). Geoffrey Bles was a British businessperson and publisher.

David Geoffrey Bles (5 September 1886 – 3 April 1957) was a British publisher, with a reputation for spotting new talent. He started his eponymous publishing firm in London in 1923 During the First World War he was commissioned into the Indian Army Reserve of Officers in October 1917 and was attached to the 17th Cavalry, Indian Army, in November 1917. He served in the Political Department in Mesopotamia in 1918 before demobilisation in June 1919 and returning to the Indian Civil Service. and Maria von Trapp.

Baum's Grand Hotel (1930), originally published in German, was a huge commercial success for Bles.

William Collins publishers bought the firm of Geoffrey Bles in 1953, and Bles retired within a year or two. Books continued to be published under the Bles imprint into the 1970s. The Garnstone Press purchased the Geoffrey Bles name from Collins in 1971.

Following his death, correspondents commented in The Times on his personal suitability to the genteel world of literary publishing.

His great nephew is the writer William Mortimer Moore whose Free France's Lion: The Life of Philippe Leclerc, de Gaulle's Greatest General was published in 2011 and is dedicated to Bles.

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Important facts

Birth century
Education
Merton College
Employers
Indian Civil Service
Also known as
David Geoffrey Bles

People in Geoffrey Bles's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Geoffrey Bles's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Geoffrey Bles?

British publisher

When was Geoffrey Bles born?

Geoffrey Bles was born on 5 September 1886.

When did Geoffrey Bles die?

Geoffrey Bles died on 3 April 1957.

What was Geoffrey Bles's occupation?

Geoffrey Bles was a businessperson and publisher.

What nationality was Geoffrey Bles?

Geoffrey Bles was British.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Geoffrey Bles

· Wikidata: Q17985959

· DBpedia: Geoffrey Bles

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Geoffrey Bles. https://biography.guide/geoffrey-bles/

MLA: "Geoffrey Bles." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/geoffrey-bles/.

Chicago: "Geoffrey Bles." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/geoffrey-bles/.

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