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Antiquarian & Collectible

To The Moon 1969 Time-Life Records & Book Set 1st Edit

To The Moon 1969 Time-Life Records & Book Set 1st Edit

$99.95 15m
COMMON PRAYER,  LEATHER,   C. 1898

COMMON PRAYER, LEATHER, C. 1898

- $3.99 15m
Mexican Birds (Leather) Collector's Lifetime Edition

Mexican Birds (Leather) Collector's Lifetime Edition

- $9.99 15m
A tribute To John F Kennedy 1964

A tribute To John F Kennedy 1964

- $20.00 15m
ROLAND SCHIMMEL - Blitzbilder - Bright Silkscreens 1991

ROLAND SCHIMMEL - Blitzbilder - Bright Silkscreens 1991

$35.00 15m
OLD SAILOR AA Milne Shepard POOH 1st Thus (1947) HCDJ

OLD SAILOR AA Milne Shepard POOH 1st Thus (1947) HCDJ

- $9.99 15m
GLITZ,  GLAMOUR & SPARKLE -Eberson movie palaces booklet

GLITZ, GLAMOUR & SPARKLE -Eberson movie palaces booklet

$8.00 15m
SILENCES DU COLONEL BRAMBLE, MAUROIS, GRASSET, 1927 UNCUT!

SILENCES DU COLONEL BRAMBLE, MAUROIS, GRASSET, 1927 UNCUT!

- $4.99 15m
1925 "Wolf" By Albert Payson Terhune Dust Jacket

1925 "Wolf" By Albert Payson Terhune Dust Jacket

- $24.99 16m
Scotland's Gift Charles Blair MacDonald 1928 Near Fine

Scotland's Gift Charles Blair MacDonald 1928 Near Fine

- $425.00 16m
NANCY DREW THE SECRET OF MIRROR BAY

NANCY DREW THE SECRET OF MIRROR BAY

1 $5.99 16m
Doris Lessing AFRICAN STORIES HC DJ 1st 1965

Doris Lessing AFRICAN STORIES HC DJ 1st 1965

$45.00 16m
Easton Press Uncle Tom's Cabin,  Stowe,  Very Fine

Easton Press Uncle Tom's Cabin, Stowe, Very Fine

- $24.95 16m
First Printing Frank Gruber The Silver Jackass!

First Printing Frank Gruber The Silver Jackass!

- $9.50 16m

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.