Elsie Wollheim
Elsie Balter Wollheim (June 26, 1910-February 9, 1996) was co-founder of DAW books, the first publishing company devoted solely to fantasy and science fiction. She typed DAW's very first contract in 1971, drawing on her work for a law firm, paid out royalties and devoted herself to her writers.
The daughter of Russian immigrants, she studied at Hunter College and worked as a bookkeeper, stenographer and typist in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Her father was a jeweler, and in 1929, Elsie took over as his bookkeeper. Then she worked in a law office for Rosalind Cohen, who introduced her to the early fandom group called the Futurians. Members included Judith Merril, Doris Baumgardt (aka Leslie Perri), Mary Byers, and Donald A. Wollheim, whom she married in 1943. While Don worked for publishers, she managed her father's jewelry factory.
She gave birth to their daughter Betsy Wollheim in 1951. While a stay-at-home mom until co-founding DAW, she was active in the League of Women Voters and an avid follower of theater, opera and poetry.
She died in 1996 after a five-year struggle with cancer.
Photo: http://www.midamericon.org/photoarchive/92soon01.JPG
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