The Evolution of Paperback Books
Back in the day…. before the 1800s, books were bound in hard cover. Hard cover books were large and leather-bound, making them heavy. Many people could not afford them. Then, publishers began to print books with hard cardboard covers, making them a little lighter and a little less expensive.
The Penguin Publishing Company in London, England first began publishing paperback books on July 30, 1835. Smaller and much lighter, they were produced at fraction of the cost of hard cover books.
Paperback books, became affordable to the general public and immediately became a huge success.
Penguin Publishing Company produced 3 million paperback books in the first 12 months. Prior to 1835, a few other publishers had tried unsuccessfully to print paperback books.
American Robert Fair de Graff was the first to create the “Pocket Book” in 1939. It was published by Simon &Schuster. It was 4” X 6”. 1.5 million pocket books were sold in the first year for just 25 cents each.
