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Bookends

EAGLE HEAD BOOKENDS  - Detailed Feather Effect - Birds

EAGLE HEAD BOOKENDS - Detailed Feather Effect - Birds

2 $18.50 38m
Thinker Bookends - Thoughtfully Keeps Your Books in Ord

Thinker Bookends - Thoughtfully Keeps Your Books in Ord

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$15.33
$21.95
40m
READING CHERUB BOOKENDS - Classic Grecian Carvings Look

READING CHERUB BOOKENDS - Classic Grecian Carvings Look

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$12.50
$17.95
42m
Art Nouveau PEACOCK Bookends STUNNING BEAUTIFUL MINT NR

Art Nouveau PEACOCK Bookends STUNNING BEAUTIFUL MINT NR

$28.00 45m
GENUINE MARBLE GOLFERS' BOOKENDS" Noymer Pakistan

GENUINE MARBLE GOLFERS' BOOKENDS" Noymer Pakistan

- $5.95 45m
BOOK ENDS  SPARROWS CLUB  CRYSTAL CATHEDRAL MINISTRIES

BOOK ENDS SPARROWS CLUB CRYSTAL CATHEDRAL MINISTRIES

1 $0.99 3h 7m
ONR PAIR OF BRASS FIGURAL DEER BOOKENDS SIGNED BUCCINI

ONR PAIR OF BRASS FIGURAL DEER BOOKENDS SIGNED BUCCINI

- $24.99 8h 22m
Wild Stallion Bookends 4" x 4 1 2" x 6" high.

Wild Stallion Bookends 4" x 4 1 2" x 6" high.

$12.95 12h 46m
Twilight Bookends

Twilight Bookends

3 $31.00 13h 54m
Dr. Suess The Grinch Book Ends Holders

Dr. Suess The Grinch Book Ends Holders

- $2.99 15h 47m
NEW! MAHOGANY PEACOCK FILIGREE BOOK ENDS BIRD BOOKENDS

NEW! MAHOGANY PEACOCK FILIGREE BOOK ENDS BIRD BOOKENDS

- $0.01 18h 20m
PR DAYAGI ISRAEL JUDAICA BRASS & ENAMEL BOOKENDS 4043

PR DAYAGI ISRAEL JUDAICA BRASS & ENAMEL BOOKENDS 4043

2 $9.99 21h 36m
HUMPHREY'S CORNER BOOK ENDS NIB NURSERY DECOR BABY

HUMPHREY'S CORNER BOOK ENDS NIB NURSERY DECOR BABY

3 $20.50 23h 39m
FIERCE DRAGON BOOKENDS - Mythical Guardians & Mystical

FIERCE DRAGON BOOKENDS - Mythical Guardians & Mystical

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$19.20
$24.95
1d 3m

News

  • Paperback History
    Inexpensive books bound in paper have existed since at least the 19th century and exist in a number of formats that have specific names, such as pamphlets, cheap editions, yellowbacks, dime novels and railway novels. Today most paperbacks are called either "mass-market paperback" or "trade paperback", the differences of which are described later.

     

    The 20th century mass-market paperback format was pioneered by German publisher Albatross Books in 1931 but the experiment was cut short. In England Penguin Books adopted many of Albatrosss innovations, for instance the conspicuous logo and the color coded covers for different genres, beginning in 1935,and was an immediate financial success. British publisher Allen Lane launched the Penguin imprint in 1935, with 10 reprint titles; this started the paperback revolution in the English-language book market. Number one on the Penguin list of 1935 editions was André Mauroiss Ariel.

     

    Allen Lane intended to produce cheap books. He bought paperback rights from publishers, ordered huge print runs (e.g., 20,000 copies) to keep unit prices low, and looked to non-traditional book selling retail locations. Booksellers were initially reluctant to buy his books. But Woolworths, placed a large order on the books, and the books sold extremely well. After this initial success, booksellers were no longer reluctant to stock paperbacks. The word Penguin became closely associated with the word paperback.

     

    Robert de Graaf, in 1939, issued a similar line in the USA, partnering with Simon & Schuster to found the Pocket Books imprint. The term pocket book became synonymous with paperback in English-speaking North America. In Québec, the term "ivre de poche was used, and continues to be used today. De Graaf, like Lane, negotiated paperback rights from other publishers, and produced large print runs. His practices contrasted with those of Lane in his adoption of illustrated covers, aimed at the North American market. In order to reach an even larger market than Lane had, he went the mass market route, through distribution networks of newspapers and magazines, which had a lengthy history of being aimed (in format and distribution) at mass audiences. This was the beginning of mass market paperbacks.

     

    Because of its position as Number One in what became a very long list of Pocket editions, James Hiltons Lost Horizon is often cited as the first American paperback book, which is not correct. The first mass-market, pocket-sized, paperback book printed in America was an edition of Pearl Bucks The Good Earth, produced by Pocket Books as a proof-of-concept in late 1938, sold in New York City, and now very collectible.