Paul Elek is a British publisher, the founder of Paul Elek Publishers, whose publication of

Richard Pape Richard Bernard Pape Military Medal, MM (17 March 1916 – 19 June 1995) was a British Second World War escapee, adventurer, autobiographer and novelist. Pape was born in 1916 in Roundhay, Leeds, Yorkshire. He worked as a journalist in the ''York ...

's first book, ''Boldness Be My Friend'' saved him from bankruptcy.

's first book, ''Boldness Be My Friend'', was an account of his Second World War adventures as a navigator in a Lancaster bomber that was shot down close to the German/Dutch border, and his captures and escapes. The book was brought to

Anthony Blond Anthony Bernard Blond (20 March 1928 – 27 February 2008) was a British publisher and author, who was involved with several publishing companies over his career, including several he established himself, or in partnerships, from 1952. Biograph ...

's London literary agency in 1952 by Vanora McIndoe, the daughter of Sir Archie McIndoe, from Pape who was hospitalized in East Grinstead, and having plastic surgery, following a drunken motorcycle accident on the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

. After being read and approved by Blond's colleague

Isabel Colegate Isabel Diana Colegate (10 September 1931 – 12 March 2023) was a British author and literary agent. Early life and education Born in Paddington in London, England, Colegate was the youngest of her parents' four daughters. Her father was Sir ...

, the book was published by Elek, who gave a £600 advance. It sold 160, 000 copies at 16 shillings each, and Elek avoided bankruptcy. Elek was also an author, and published ''This Other London'' in 1951, Paul Elek Publishers, illustrated by David Knight. Paul Elek Publishers published a number of large-format books on art and architecture in the 1960s and 1970s, including several series, Ancient Cities and Temples, The Making of History, Centres of Art and Civilization, and a short series, name unknown, of highly illustrated books on mediaeval architecture. One of the volumes, Lost Cities of Asia, in the series Centres of Art and Civilization, states that it is the first in a new series, each volume focusing on three cities, but subsequent volumes showed it as part of the original series. In many of the volumes the photography was by Wim Swaan and Edwin Smith, shown below by (WS) and (ES).

Selected publications (as author)

''This Other London'' (1951, Paul Elek Publishers)

Selected publications of Paul Elek Publishers

''The Gothic Cathedral'' Wim Swaan (1969)
''Castles of Europe'' William Anderson (WS) (1970)
''Monasteries of the World''

Christopher Brooke Christopher Brooke (died 1628) was an English poet, lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons between 1604 and 1626. Life He was the son of Robert Brooke (16th century MP), Robert Brooke, a rich merchan ...

(WS) (1974)
''The Late Middle Ages'' Wim Swaan (1977)

Ancient Cities and Temples
''Babylon'' Albert Champdor (1958)
''Jerusalem'' Michel Join-Lambert (1958)
''Ethiopia'' Jean Doresse (1959)
''Maya Cities''

Paul Rivet Paul Rivet (7 May 1876, Wasigny, Ardennes – 21 March 1958) was a French ethnologist known for founding the Musée de l'Homme in 1937. In his professional work, Rivet is known for his theory that South America was originally populated in pa ...

(1960)
'' Carthage'' Gilbert Picard (1964)

The Making of History
''The Age of Charlemagne'' Donald Bullough (ES) (1965)
''The Age of Plantagenet and Valois'' Kenneth Fowler (WS, ES) (1967)
''The Age of Augustus'' Donald Earl (1968)

Centres of Art and Civilization
''Pompeii & Herculaneum''

Marcel Brion Marcel Brion (; 21 November 1895 – 23 October 1984) was a French essayist, literary critic, novelist, and historian. Early life The son of a lawyer, Brion was classmates in Thiers with Marcel Pagnol and Albert Cohen. After completing his ...

(ES) (1960)
''Imperial Peking'' Lin Yutang (1961)
''Venice the Masque of Italy''

(ES) (1962)
''Moorish Spain'' Enrique Sordo (WS) (1963)
''Mecca the Blessed Madinah the Radiant'' Emel Esin (1963)
''Athens'' Angelo Procopiou (ES) (1964)
''Constantinople''

David Talbot Rice David Talbot Rice (11 July 1903 in Rugby – 12 March 1972 in Cheltenham) was an English archaeologist and art historian. He has been described variously as a "gentleman academic" and an "amateur" art historian, though such remarks are no ...

(WS) (1965)
''Thebes of the Pharaohs'' Charles F. Nims (WS) (1965)
''Isfahan, Pearl of Persia''

Wilfrid Blunt Wilfrid Scawen Blunt (17 August 1840 – 10 September 1922), sometimes spelt Wilfred, was an English poet and writer. He and his wife Lady Anne Blunt travelled in the Middle East and were instrumental in preserving the Arabian horse bloodlines ...

(WS) (1966)
''Lost Cities of Asia'' Wim Swaan (1966)
''Tibet, Land of Snows'' Giuseppe Tucci (WS, ES) (1967)
''Morocco''

Rom Landau Romauld Landau (1899–1974) was born in Poland but became a British citizen when he served as a volunteer in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He was a sculptor, author, educator, Foreign Service officer and specialist on Arab an ...

(WS) (1967)
''Cities of Mughal India'' Gavin Hambly (WS) (1968)
''Flemish Cities'' William Gaunt (WS) (1969)
''Rome''

Stewart Perowne Stewart Henry Perowne OBE, KStJ, FSA, FRSA (17 June 1901 – 10 May 1989) was a British diplomat, archaeologist, explorer and historian who wrote books on the history and antiquities of the Mediterranean. Despite his homosexuality, in 1947 he ...

(ES) (1971)

Other books
''The Medici''

(WS) (1969)
''Lucknow: the Last Phase of an Oriental Culture''

Abdul Halim Sharar Abdul Halim Sharar ( ur, ; 4 September 1860 – 1 December 1926) was an Indian author, playwright, essayist and historian from Lucknow. He left behind, in all, hundred and two books. He often wrote about the Islamic past and extolled virtues l ...

(1975)
''The Hindu Temple'' George Michell (1977)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elek, Paul British book publishers (people)