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Art & Exhibitions

Mark Ryden Blood Miniature Paintings of Sorrow and Fear

Mark Ryden Blood Miniature Paintings of Sorrow and Fear

- $49.99 56m
T REX   HUNT FOR THE PAST

T REX HUNT FOR THE PAST

- $0.99 2h 18m
Pyari-Pyari Arabic - Henna Mehendi Tattoos Designs Book

Pyari-Pyari Arabic - Henna Mehendi Tattoos Designs Book

$7.99 3h 4m
1981 RI School of Design Clay Exhibition Catalog

1981 RI School of Design Clay Exhibition Catalog

$9.99 9h 8m
c1980 Wm H. Schab Gallery Modern Masters Sale Catalog

c1980 Wm H. Schab Gallery Modern Masters Sale Catalog

$8.99 9h 15m
Navneet Arabic - Henna Mehendi Tattoos Designs Book

Navneet Arabic - Henna Mehendi Tattoos Designs Book

$8.99 9h 20m
Beautiful Jewish Museum Catalog on Cairo's Synagogue

Beautiful Jewish Museum Catalog on Cairo's Synagogue

- $0.99 10h 41m
JULIAN  SCHNABEL   NEW INDIAN PAINTINGS & S. 2003 PACE

JULIAN SCHNABEL NEW INDIAN PAINTINGS & S. 2003 PACE

$9.00 11h 16m
BONI LUX       JULIAN SCHNABEL              IN SLIPCASE

BONI LUX JULIAN SCHNABEL IN SLIPCASE

$15.50 11h 32m
Victor Pasmore : Yale Center for British Art   1988

Victor Pasmore : Yale Center for British Art 1988

- $18.00 12h 18m
Raphael Soyer : 20 Great Paintings   1995 Catalogue

Raphael Soyer : 20 Great Paintings 1995 Catalogue

- $24.95 12h 18m
Cy Twombly : Exhibition Catalogue,  Hirschl & Adler 1986

Cy Twombly : Exhibition Catalogue, Hirschl & Adler 1986

1 $34.95 12h 18m
Trees: John Marin and Charles Burchfield   1991 Catalog

Trees: John Marin and Charles Burchfield 1991 Catalog

- $24.95 12h 21m
William T. Wiley Looks at Art History   de Young Museum

William T. Wiley Looks at Art History de Young Museum

- $24.95 12h 21m

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.