Modernity and Print III: The United States 1890-1970

Summary

• Beginning in the 1890s, wealthy businessmen were investing into the new booming book business. Andrew Carnegie donated over $41 million to build 1,679 free public libraries in 1,412 municipalities in the United States alone. In 1899, J.P. Morgan loaned money to the publishing house of the Harper Brothers in order to save them from bankruptcy. This was the first time book publishing had been traded publicly, as opposed to the family or partner owned publishing houses that were popular at the time.
• American authors wrote rural novels and Westerns, which both sold well in the United States. Although these kinds of books were not considered high literature, it showed that the number of readers and book buyers in the US had expanded from the rich elite to a major mass medium available to almost all.
• During World War II, American publishing saw a major decline due to the rationing of paper, the melting of iron plates, and enlisting many of the publishing house workers. After the war however, many of the young soldiers began to enroll in schools and universities all over the country, which led to a high demand for books and textbooks, specifically. From there, children's books became popular with the launch of Theodore Geisal's The Cat in the Hat and college textbooks and printing presses soon began popping up all over the country.
• Paperback publishing houses began by distributing them to U.S. soldiers during WWII. Paperbacks began as just reprints of other famous hardcover editions and eventually found their market in a magazine distribution system. They sold through drugstores, tobacco shops, and other outlets where people could find classic books without ever stepping in a bookstore. From there, paperback publishing houses like Pocket Books began publishing original works as well as reprints and by the mid-1970s, paperback books were widely used and respected among authors and publishers and remain popular even today.

Comments

• I actually really enjoyed reading this chapter, I thought it was interesting to see the journey paperback books have had to go through in order to become popular like they are today. I personally enjoy paperback books most of the time because of their size and flexibility. When reading a good book, I like to keep it with me all the time just in case I have a spare moment to read. With paperback books, they are small and light enough to keep in my book bag and the soft cover the book is more flexible.

Question

• According to the chapter, what was the fastest growing industry in the book business? Why were these types of books in such high demand throughout the 19th and 20th centuries?