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Dell Publishing

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Not to be confused withDell.
Dell Publishing
Parent companyRandom House
Founded1921;103 years ago(1921)
FounderGeorge T. Delacorte Jr.
Country of originUnited States
Headquarters locationNew York City
Publication typesBooks
ImprintsDial,Delacorte, Laurel Leaf, Yearling
Official websiterandomhousebooks.com/dell-delacorte-books

Dell Publishing Company, Inc.is an American publisher ofbooks,magazinesandcomic books,that was founded in 1921 byGeorge T. Delacorte Jr.with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title,I Confess,and soon began turning out dozens ofpulp magazines,which included penny-a-worddetective stories,articles about films, andromancebooks (or "smoochies" as they were known in the slang of the day).

During the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, Dell was one of the largest publishers of magazines, includingpulp magazines.Their line of humor magazines included1000 Jokes,launched in 1938. From 1929 to 1974, they published comics under theDell Comicsline, the bulk of which (1938–62) was done in partnership withWestern Publishing.In 1943, Dell entered intopaperbackbook publishing withDell Paperbacks.They also used the bookimprintsofDial Press,Delacorte Books,Delacorte Press,Yearling Books,andLaurel Leaf Library.

Dell was acquired byDoubledayin 1976, which was itself acquired byBertelsmannin 1986. Bertelsmann later consolidated Dell with other imprints intoRandom House.

Paperbacks

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Dell's earliest venture into paperback publishing began because of its close association withWestern Publishing.William Lyles wrote, "Dell needed paper, which Western had in 1942, and because Western by this time needed printing work, which Dell could supply in the form of its new paperback line. So Dell Books[1]was born, created by Delacorte of Dell and Lloyd E. Smith of Western. "[2]

Dell began publishing paperbacks in 1942 at a time when mass-market paperbacks were a relatively new idea for the United States market—its principal competitor,Pocket Books,had only been publishing since 1939. An examination[whose?]of paperback books available at this time shows no consensus on standardization of any feature; each early company was attempting to distinguish itself from its competitors. Lyles commented, "Dell achieved more variety than any of its early competitors. It did so, at first, with an instantly identifiable format of vibrant airbrushed covers for its predominantly genre fiction, varying 'eye-in-keyhole' logos,mapson the back covers, lists of the books' characters, and 'tantalizer-pages'. The design was merchandising genius; it successfully attracted buyers, it sold books. "[2]

The first four books did not feature maps on the back cover; this began with Dell #5,Four Frightened WomenbyGeorge Harmon Coxe.(A later re-issue of Dell #4,The American Gun MysterybyEllery Queen,added a map.) The map was meant as an aid to the reader, to show the location of the principal activity of the novel. Some were incredibly detailed; others somewhat stylized and abstract. The books were almost immediately known as "mapbacks",and that nomenclature has lasted among collectors to this day.[3]The maps were "delicate and detailed".[4]

The novels in the mapback series were primarily mysteries/detective fiction but ran the gamut from romances (Self-Made WomanbyFaith Baldwin,#163) to science fiction (The First Men in the MoonbyH. G. Wells,#201), war books (I Was a Nazi Flyerby Gottfried Leske, #21 andEisenhower Was My BossbyKay Summersby,#286), many Westerns (Gunsmoke and Trail Dustby Bliss Lomax, #271), joke books (Liberty Laughs,Cavanah & Weir, #38) and even crossword puzzles (Second Dell Book of Crossword Puzzles,ed. Kathleen Rafferty, #278, one of the rarest titles today). There were a few movie tie-in editions (The Harvey GirlsbySamuel Hopkins Adams,#130, andRopeas byAlfred Hitchcock,#262) and the occasional attempt at more artistic non-genre fiction (To a God UnknownbyJohn Steinbeck,#407). Novels which are today long forgotten, by largely unknown authors (Death Wears a White Gardenia,byZelda Popkin,#13) are in the same series as valuable original paperback editions of famous authors (A Man Called Spade,byDashiell Hammett,#90). "The back cover map was very popular with readers and remains popular with collectors... the Dell 'mapbacks' are among the most well-known vintage paperbacks."[3]

In the early 1950s, as series numbering reached the 400s, Dell began updating the appearance of its books. In 1951, the back cover maps began to be gradually replaced with conventional text and "blurb" covers.[3]Some later, more stylized maps were the product ofMilton GlaserandPush Pin Studios.These innovations were brought in by editor-in-chief Frank Taylor. He introduced classics in paperback form under the umbrella imprint "Laurel Editions"[5]which included the LaurelHenry Jamesseries and the Laurel Poetry Series, the latter edited by the distinguished poetRichard Wilbur.In the early 1960s the Dell Purse Book series of pocket-sized information books on a wide range of topics was launched.[6]

Dell was also the publisher of the paperback novel seriesTwilight: Where Darkness Beginsbetween 1982 and 1987.

Dell Ten Cent Books

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At about this time, Dell launched two short-lived experiments which are also considered very collectible, Dell First Editions and Dell Ten Cent Books. The Ten Cent Books, 36 in all, were thin, paperback-sized editions containing a single short story told in only 64 pages (advertised as "too short for popular reprint at a higher price" ), such asRobert A. Heinlein'sUniverse(1951).

Dell First Editions included novels byJohn D. MacDonald,Fredric Brown,Jim Thompson,Elmore LeonardandCharles Williams.

Comic strip reprints

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In 1947, Dell published two unnumbered paperbacks based on newspapercomic strips,Blondieand Dagwood in Footlight FollyandDick Tracyand the Woo Woo Sisters.Both are popular with collectors today.[3]

Dell today

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Dell Publishing no longer exists as an independent entity. Dell was acquired byDoubledayin 1976.[7]Doubleday was acquired byBertelsmannin 1986, who formedBantamDoubleday Dell as its US subsidiary.[8]Bertelsmann acquiredRandom Housein 1998 and renamed its US business after the acquisition.[9]After the merger, Bantam was merged with Dell Publishing.[10]In 2001, Random House purchased Golden Books' book publishing properties[11]effectively reuniting the remnants of Dell andWestern Publishing.Bantam Dell became part of the Random House publishing group in 2008.[12]Ballantine Bookswas merged with Bantam Dell in 2010.[13]In 2013, Random House merged with Penguin to formPenguin Random House.[14]

Dell Magazineswas sold in 1996 toPenny Publications,[15]and it still exists as a major publisher of puzzle magazines, also publishing science fiction, mystery and horoscope magazines.

Imprints

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Notable publications

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References

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  1. ^Dell Books (Dell Publishing Company, Inc.) - Book Series List,publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  2. ^abPutting Dell on the Map,William H. Lyles,Greenwood Press,1983,ISBN0-313-23667-4
  3. ^abcdCollectable Paperback Books,ed. Jeff Canja, Glenmoor Publishing, 2002,ISBN0-967363-95-0
  4. ^Hancer's Price Guide to Paperback Books, Third Edition,ed. Kevin Hancer, Wallace-Homestead, 1990,ISBN0-87069-536-3
  5. ^Dell Laurel series (Dell Publishing Co., Inc.) - Book Series List,publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  6. ^Other Dell Series,bookscans.com. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  7. ^Krebs, Albin (1976-04-30)."It's Official: Doubleday Acquires Dell".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2019-10-14.
  8. ^Tagliabue, John (1984-07-23)."German Publisher Widens U.s. Role".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2019-01-20.
  9. ^Random House Company History, fromFundinguniverse.comArchived4 March 2012 at theWayback Machine.Accessed April 13, 2008.
  10. ^Carvajal, Doreen (1999-05-28)."Bertelsmann Is Reorganizing Random House".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2019-01-20.
  11. ^"'Poky Little' $84M deal ".CNN.Reuters.August 16, 2001.Archivedfrom the original on October 7, 2012.RetrievedJuly 3,2014.
  12. ^"Massive Reorganization at Random House: Steve Rubin, Irwyn Applebaum Step Down; Doubleday and Bantam Divisions Dismantled".Observer.2008-12-03.Retrieved2019-10-14.
  13. ^"Ballantine and Bantam Dell Come Together Under McGuire".Publishers Lunch.2010-04-13.Retrieved2019-01-20.
  14. ^Bosman, Julie (2013-07-01)."Penguin and Random House Merge, Saying Change Will Come Slowly".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2016-04-04.
  15. ^"Dell Is Selling Magazine Unit".The New York Times.Associated Press. 1996-03-12.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2023-11-01.
  16. ^"Book Ends".The New York Times.15 February 1976.
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