Paperback
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.
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, expecially 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.
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Ace Books*
Berkley Books*
DAW Books*
Paperback Library*
Popular Library*
The Beatles' song, "
Paperback Writer".
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Mass market paperback*
Trade paperback*
A History of Paperback Books: Publishing Houses, Authors, and Artists*
Paperback Publishers
