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Paperback may refer to a kind of book binding by which papers are simply folded without cloth or leather and bound - usually with glue rather than stitches or staples - into a thick paper cover; or to a book with this type of binding. (Contrast cloth, hardback, hardbound or hardcover.) The paperback format was pioneered by German publisher Albatross Books in 1931 but the experiment was cut short. In England Penguin Books adopted many of Albatross's innovations, for instance the conspicuous logo and the color-coded covers for different genres, beginning in 1935, and was an immediate financial success. The format was brought to the United States with Pocket Books, beginning in 1939. Because of its position as Number One in what became a very long list of Pocket editions, James Hilton's Lost Horizon is often cited as the first paperback book, which is not correct. The first mass-market, pocket-sized, paperback book printed in America was an edition of Pearl Buck's The Good Earth, produced by Pocket Books as a proof-of-concept in late 1938, sold in New York City, and now very collectible. Number One on the Penguin list of 1935 editions was André Maurois's Ariel. Paperbacks include cheap mass market paperbacks, in the standard "pocketbook" format generally printed on newsprint or other low quality paper, which will discolor and disintegrate over a period of decades, and more expensive trade paperbacks in larger formats printed on better quality paper, sometimes acid-free paper.
Use Paperback editions of books are issued when a company decides to release a book in a low cost format. The lack of a hard cover, stitched bindings, and frequently the use of cheaper paper, contibute to the inherent low cost of paperbacks, especially when compared to the average cost of hardcovers. Paperbacks can be the preferred media when a book is not expected to be a major seller, or in other situations where the publisher wishes to release a book without putting forth a large investment. Examples include many novels, and new editions or reprintings of older books. Some people do not buy paperbacks due to their ephemeral nature and brightly coloured covers which do not fit into their collection. First printed in the 1910s A Paperback was recently discovered from the "How does it work" series which was printed in 1916, the book (which is entitled "Electricity") may be the first paperback ever published predating Albatross books by twelve years, although it is unclear how many other copies have survived. Major paperback publishers See also | ||||||||
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