Homestead Book Company was a publisher and wholesale distributor of books, magazines, videos, games, and novelty items. Founded in 1972 and closed in 2017, the organization was located in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

. They specialized in

counter-cultural A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...

books and distributed over 3,000 titles to retailers as well as through their own

mail-order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing a telephone call * Placing a ...

business.

History

Homestead Book Company was founded in 1972 by David Tatelman. They began as a distributor of underground comix for

Rip Off Press Rip Off Press Corporation, Inc. is a comic book mail order retailer and Distribution (business), distributor, better known as the former publisher of adult-themed series like ''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' and ''Rip Off Comix'', as well as ...

. Tatelman initially delivered comix to various accounts between

Olympia The name Olympia may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games * ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...

and Bellingham in Washington. The company soon began distributing books with their first book being ''The Complete Guide to Growing Marijuana'' by David Fleming. Homestead Book Company was also one of the first distributors for ''

High Times Magazine ''High Times'' is an American monthly magazine (and cannabis brand) that advocates the legalization of cannabis as well as other counterculture ideas. The magazine was founded in 1974 by Tom Forcade.Danko, Danny"Norml Founder Retires – Exhale ...

''.

Mushroom kits

During the Teononacatl Mushroom Conference in 1977, Tatelman met with author Bob Harris and they decided to start offering home grown

Psilocybe ''Psilocybe'' ( ) is a genus of gilled mushrooms, growing worldwide, in the family Hymenogastraceae. Most or nearly all species contain the psychedelic compounds psilocybin and psilocin. Taxonomy Taxonomic history A 2002 study of the mole ...

mushroom kits. The kits were introduced with growing methods that were outlined in Harris' book ''Growing Wild Mushrooms''. The first kits were introduced in 1978 and sold through advertisements in ''High Times Magazine''. The kits are still on the market and are now referred to by the name EZ-Gro Mushroom Kits.

Published books

Homestead Book Company also published many books over the years, including several associated with the growing and cultivating of Psilocybe Mushrooms. * Miller, Richard; and Tatelman, David. ''Magical Mushroom Handbook'', 1977. * Stamets, Paul. ''Psilocybe Mushrooms and Their Allies'', 1978. * Jackson, Michael; Cottone, Vince; and Chieger, Bob. ''Good Beer Guide: Breweries and Pubs of the Pacific Northwest'', 1986. * Chieger, Bob. ''Poor Man's Gourmet Guide to Seattle Restaurants'', 1986. * Flenniken, Shary. ''Seattle Laughs: Comic Stories About Seattle'', 1994.

Philanthropy

In Seattle, Homestead was a co-sponsor of the 4th of July fireworks and

Seattle Hempfest Seattle Hempfest is an annual event in the city of Seattle, Washington (and the world's largest annual gathering) advocating the legalization of cannabis. Vivian McPeak serves as the organization's executive director. Founded in 1991 as the Was ...

References

External links

official site
{{Coord, 47.67325, -122.385083, display=t Book publishing companies based in Seattle Bookstores of the United States Book selling websites Online retailers of the United States