Paperback
History of Paperbacks
The Creation of Paperbacks
The history of paperback books begins with the issues revolving in the world prior to when they were created. Most books were sold hardback and were often seen as a luxury item, so only few could acquire them. Hardcover books were stiff and difficult to simply carry around.[1].
Around the 1930s publishers wanted to make their product more available for everyone[1]. This was mostly to counter the ongoing economic depression. A chairman of British publishing Allen Lane was inspired by magazines being sold at a train station and their lightweight ease. Allen Lane created a new house called Penguin, he bought rights to ten reprints, including A Farewell of Arms by Ernest Hemingway and The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie. The paperbacks sold for two and a half pence, and Penguins house would need to sell over 17,000 copies to break even. Over three million copies were sold, the graphic design of the books had been said to play a large role in this success. While most hard back novels just issued a standard name and title as the cover, Penguin House use organized fonts with color coding and a recognizable bird[2].
Impact of Paperbacks
Lane had revolutionized the publishing industry due to the creation of paperback books. In the 1940s the US had started to publish paperbacks. The nickname for these books were pocketbooks, as they could easily fit into pockets[1]. During World War II these pocketbooks were carried by soldiers, and during times of paper rationing Penguin Publishers did not fault such as their hardcover competitors[2].
During the 1950s to the 60s the paperback book had dominated the book publishing fields and were easily accessible in a post-war era. They had been a large profit for commuters and frequent travelers as paper backs were lightweight and more affordable[1]. They made the book borrowing community into the book buying community. Paperback books also had an immense widespread in developing countries truly showing the impact that the paperback book brought to society[3].
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The birth of the Paperback Book | Friesens Corporation. (2025, August 20). Friesens. https://www.friesens.com/blog/the-history-of-the-paperback/.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Trubek, A. (2013, November 15). How the Paperback Novel Changed Popular Literature. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/how-the-paperback-novel-changed-popular-literature-11893941/.
- ↑ History of publishing - The paperback revolution. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/publishing/The-paperback-revolution.
