Popular Library
 |
| Parent company | Perfect Film and Chemical (1968-1970) Fawcett Publications (1970-1977) CBS (1977-1982) Warner Communications (1982-) |
|---|---|
| Status | defunct |
| Founded | 1942 |
| Founder | Leo Margulies Ned Pines |
Popular Library was a New York paperback book company established in 1942 by Leo Margulies and Ned Pines, who at the time was a major pulp magazine publisher. The company's logo of a pine tree was a tribute to Pines, and another Popular Library signature visual was a reduced black-and-white copy of the front cover on the title page.
A native of Malden, Massachusetts, Pines became the president of Pines Publications in 1928 and continued to lead the company until 1961. He was the president of Popular Library from 1942 to 1966 and its chairman from 1966 to 1968. Retiring in 1971, he continued to work as a consultant.
History
Perfect Film and Chemical Corporation purchased Popular Library in 1968.[1] The company, which also had the Curtis Books imprint,[citation needed] was sold to 1970 by Fawcett Publications. In 1977, CBS purchased Popular Library and Fawcett Books. CBS then renewed the copyright of in the Standard/Better/Nedor/Popular 1950s pulps library and the various Captain Marvel titles. In 1982, CBS sold off Popular to Warner Communications and Fawcett to Ballentine.[2]
Writers and illustrators
Although Popular Library embraced all genres, it was notable for publishing a wide variety of mystery authors. The line-up of Popular Library novelists included John Dickson Carr, Sam Cherry, Octavus Roy Cohen, Mignon G. Eberhart, Ernest Haycox, Rufus King, Arthur Miller, Craig Rice, John Steinbeck and Cornell Woolrich. Popular Library’s first 100 covers were all by the same artists, H. Lawrence Hoffman and Sol Immerman. The cover art became more eye-catching and vivid with the addition of illustrators Rudolph Belarski, Earle K. Bergey and Rafael DeSoto. John Erskine's The Private Life of Helen of Troy is an early Popular Library title with conspicuous cover art and blurb ("Her lust caused the Trojan War") which made it eagerly sought by collectors.
References
- ^ "Magazines: New Man for Curtis". Time. May 3, 1968. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
- ^ "Copyrights of Golden-Age Comics". Golden-Age Comic book Superheroes & Villains Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20 September 2011.