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Publishing

The Myth of a Golden Age of Books

October 22, 2020

Amazing fact of the day: in 1931 there were just 500 or so real bookstores in America, and two-thirds of the country had no bookstores at all.

In the entire country [in 1931], there were only some four thousand places where a book could be purchased, and most of these were gift shops and stationary stores that carried only a few popular novels.… In reality, there were but five hundred or so legitimate bookstores that warranted regular visits from publishers’ salesmen (and in 1931 they were all men). Of these five hundred, most were refined, old-fashioned ‘carriage trade’ stores catering to an elite clientele in the nation’s twelve largest cities.

Furthermore, two-thirds of American counties — 66 percent! — had exactly zero bookstores. It was a relatively tiny business centered in the urban areas of the country. Did some great books come out back then? Of course! But they were aimed only at the tiny percentage of the country that was visible to publishers of the time: sophisticated urban elites. It wasn’t that people couldn’t read; by 1940, UNESCO estimated that 95 percent of adults in America were literate. No, it’s just that the vast majority of adults were not considered to be part of the cultural enterprise of book publishing. People read stuff (the paper, the Bible, comic books), just not what the publishers were putting out.

— Alexis Madrigal

Filed Under: Books, Publishing Tagged With: bookselling, bookstores

Happy reading

July 12, 2019

Penguin Classics ad

This new ad campaign for Penguin Classics is lovely. (More here.)

Filed Under: Books, Design, Publishing Tagged With: advertising, book covers, bookselling, graphic design, minimalism

Inside Random House

June 27, 2012

Filed Under: Publishing Tagged With: books, Random House, video

The original death of publishing

May 5, 2012

The New Yorker

The New Yorker

Filed Under: Books, Publishing Tagged With: cartoons, The New Yorker

Support your indie bookstore!

November 30, 2011

“There are lots of reasons to support local businesses, whether it’s mom-and-pop hardware stores or neighborhood farmers’ markets. But when you buy from an independent bookseller, you’re doing something more. You’re helping to keep alive an important force in making our national literary culture more diverse, interesting and delightful. Your shelves are full of books that wouldn’t be there if not for indie booksellers you’ve never met, struggling to get by in shops you’ve never heard of. That’s why it’s so important to support the one next door.”

— Laura Miller

Amen.

Filed Under: Books, Publishing Tagged With: Laura Miller, links

The Death of Print

June 28, 2011

See if you can discern the subtle pattern in these numbers. (Via.)

Filed Under: Books, Publishing Tagged With: ebooks

Making books is fun!

June 22, 2011

“This man is an author. He writes stories. He has just finished writing a story. He thinks many people will like to read it. So he must have the story made into a book. Let’s see how the book is made.”

Filed Under: Books, Publishing Tagged With: video

Steichen at war

May 27, 2011

Getting Set for the Big Strike on Kwajalein, 1943

Preparing for the strike on Kwajelein
Photo by Edward J. Steichen aboard the U.S.S. Lexington (CV-16), November 1943

via melisaki

Filed Under: Publishing Tagged With: Edward Steichen, war

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