Institutional history Vanguard Press

1 institutional history

1.1 establishment
1.2 sale james henle
1.3 sale random house
1.4 perseus book group

institutional history
establishment

the may 1926 meeting of directors of american fund public service, better known garland fund, allocated $100,000 establish vanguard press. new publisher intended reissue left-wing classics @ affordable cost , provide outlet publication of new titles otherwise deemed unpublishable commercial press of day. initial officers , directors of new publishing house included jacob baker, roger baldwin, elizabeth gurley flynn, clinton golden, louis kopelin, bertha mailly, scott nearing , rex stout. stout accepted post of president , held until 1928, when garland fund ended subsidy , james henle became president.

the vanguard press emulated little leather library, first company mass-market inexpensive books in united states, , little blue books of emanuel haldeman-julius. vanguard depicted in promotional advertising destined ford of book publishing through inexpensive offerings of grand old idol breakers.

in june 1926, new publisher made offer sundry labor , liberal organizations , offering finance half cost of publishing book of permanent educational value , whether original manuscript or reprint of existing title. vanguard press print run of 2,000 copies, issuing organization paying 1,000 @ 25 cents copy, leaving vanguard sell other 1,000.

vanguard raised prices on time still remained economical source of hardcover books. 1928 standard price vanguard titles, such books of series entitled studies of soviet russia , current questions , 75 cents per copy. series on american imperialism edited harry elmer barnes , launched in 1928 bore cover price of $1.00 per copy. in 1927 vanguard published collection of h.g. wells s writings (wells social anticipations), edited harry w. laidler. vanguard published 1927 edition of american labor year book on behalf of socialist party-affiliated rand school of social science, sold $1.50.

the garland fund supported vanguard press extent of $155,000.

the publishing house of macy-masius merged vanguard press in june 1928. short time company operated under joint direction of george macy, president of macy-masius, , jacob baker, vanguard s managing director.

with coming of downturn of economy in 1929, vanguard press steadily moved away radical political publications , toward more mainstream literary titles apolitical titles of topical interest, such studies of charles lindbergh , organized crime in chicago.

vanguard maintained offices on fifth avenue in new york city, occupying space @ 80 fifth avenue before moving 100 fifth avenue in 1928. in mid-1930s firm moved new building in new york city, located @ 424 madison avenue.

sale james henle

in february 1932, james henle, president of vanguard press 3 years, became sole owner of publishing house. former labor reporter new york world, henle signed number of muckraking journalists. 1 of vanguard s greatest successes 100,000,000 guinea pigs (1933), exposé dangerous consumer products written arthur kallet, 3 years later found consumers union , consumer reports magazine. followed sequel successful called counterfeit , in author called end of production profit, , identified himself communist.

among many novels of social realism, vanguard published more 30 books james t. farrell. comprising studs lonigan trilogy (collected in single volume in 1935) , donald henderson clarke s female (1933) subject of bitter court fights on obscenity charges.

vanguard singled out in censorship controversies, wrote media historian john tebbel, not because published our fair city, edited robert allen, collection of essays demonstrating civic corruption had not changed since days of lincoln steffens, because had issued calder willingham s end man, indictment of military school life, , james farrell s studs lonigan trilogy. vanguard under investigation house un-american activities committee on ground in twenties , thirties had published books communist , left-wing writers. huac later apologized investigation. discovered had purged membership of communists in late 1940s, including founder arthur kallet.

the vanguard press earned reputation publishing promising new fiction, poetry, literature children , young adults, , non-fiction. vanguard published first 2 books of dr. seuss , saul bellow, , first books of nelson algren, calder willingham , marshall mcluhan. published auntie mame (1955), comic novel rejected dozen publishers before became runaway bestseller. vanguard published pierre boulle s bridge on river kwai (1954) , planet of apes (1963). published joyce carol oates first book, , 20 more — including novel, them, winner of national book award in 1970.

evelyn shrifte, editor had joined vanguard press in 1930s, became president in 1952. 1 of first women head book publishing company.

sale random house

evelyn shrifte had been president of vanguard press 36 years when, in october 1988, company sold random house. told new york times sale of 62-year-old independent publishing house prompted poor health of of vanguard s investors. valuable 500-title backlist of vanguard press merged of random house, although 10 years identified on title page vanguard press books.

random house take care of our books , authors, shrifte said. s if children being sent foster home. m trying not cry while break news our authors.

the archives of vanguard press conceptual origins in 1925 through approximately 1985, including on 129,000 documents, donated random house columbia university in new york city in 1989. evelyn shrifte s papers in collection of syracuse university.

perseus book group

an unrelated imprint, vanguard press, established in 2007 publisher roger cooper. new vanguard press [1] imprint of perseus books group.