Street & Smith or Street & Smith Publications, Inc. was a New York City publisher specializing in inexpensive paperbacks and magazines referred to as

dime novels The dime novel is a form of late 19th-century and early 20th-century U.S. popular fiction issued in series of inexpensive paperbound editions. The term ''dime novel'' has been used as a catchall term for several different but related forms, r ...

and

pulp fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Ving Rhame ...

. They also published

comic books A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

and sporting yearbooks. Among their many titles was the

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

pulp magazine Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...

Astounding Stories ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William Cl ...

'', acquired from Clayton Magazines in 1933, and retained until 1961. Street & Smith was founded in 1855, and was bought out in 1959. The Street & Smith headquarters was at 79 Seventh Avenue in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

; it was designed by Henry F. Kilburn.

History

Founding

Francis Scott Street Francis Scott Street (October 20, 1831 – April 15, 1883), with partner Francis Shubael Smith were the owners of Street & Smith publishing company in New York City. New York Dispatch He was born in New York City in 1831, but moved to New Br ...

and

Francis Shubael Smith Francis Shubael Smith I (December 29, 1819 – February 1, 1887) partnered with Francis Scott Street and started the publishing firm of Street & Smith. Biography He was born at 1798 Division Street in New York City, and was the fourth son o ...

began their publishing partnership in 1855 when they took over a broken-down fiction magazine."The Press: New Bottles,"
''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' (Monday, August 20, 1945). They then bought the existing ''

New York Weekly Dispatch The ''New York Weekly'' was a story newspaper published from 1858–1910 in New York City. Under related names it was published from 1846–1915. The paper had its origins in 1846 as the ''New York Dispatch'' (1846–1854), and ''New ...

'' in 1858. Francis Smith was the company president from 1855 until his 1887 retirement; his son Ormond Gerald Smith taking over his role."Ormond G. Smith, Publisher, Dead; President of Street & Smith and Founder of Many Popular Magazines..." ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' (April 18, 1933). Francis Street died in 1883. Francis Smith died on February 1, 1887. The company, which owned a six-story building at 79 Seventh Avenue (just above 14th Street), became a publisher of inexpensive novels and weekly magazines starting in the 1880s and continuing into 1959. In the early decades of the 20th century, Ormond V. Gould was the company secretary. Ormond Smith remained company president until his death in 1933. In 1933, Street & Smith bought titles from Clayton Magazines, including ''

''. In 1934 they put out 35 different magazines, looked after by about a dozen editors, including John Nanovic, Frank Blackwell,

Daisy Bacon Daisy Bacon (May 23, 1898 – March 1, 1986) was an American Pulp magazine, pulp fiction magazine editor and writer, best known as the editor of ''Love Story Magazine'' from 1928 to 1947. Early life Daisy Bacon was born in Union City, Pennsylvania ...

and

F. Orlin Tremaine Frederick Orlin Tremaine (January 7, 1899 – October 22, 1956) was an American science fiction magazine editor, most notably of the influential ''Astounding Stories''. He edited a number of other magazines, headed several publishing companie ...

. The company paid one cent a word, which was standard base rate among the major publishing groups, though fringe publishers paid less. In 1937, Street & Smith discontinued a number of their pulp titles, including '' Top-Notch'' and ''Complete Stories'', the start of a long-term shrinking of their pulp line. In 1938, Allen L. Grammer became president. He had spent more than twenty years as an ergonomics expert for

Curtis Publishing Company The Curtis Publishing Company, founded in 1891 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, became one of the largest and most influential publishers in the United States during the early 20th century. The company's publications included the ''Ladies' Home Jour ...

, and made a small fortune inventing a new printing process. He moved the offices into a skyscraper. Street & Smith published comic books from 1940 to 1949, their most notable titles being ''

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator, and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by writer Walter ...

'', from their pulp magazine line, ''Super-Magician Comics'', ''

Supersnipe Comics Supersnipe is a fictional character who appeared in a series of comic books published by Street & Smith from 1942 to 1949. Supersnipe was the imagined alter ego of Koppy McFad, "the boy with the most comic books in the world." He was created by writ ...

'', ''True Sport Picture Stories'', ''Bill Barnes/Air Ace'' and ''

Doc Savage Comics Doc Savage is a fictional character of the competent man hero type, who first appeared in American pulp magazines during the 1930s and 1940s. Real name Clark Savage Jr., he is a doctor, scientist, adventurer, detective, and polymath who "rights w ...

'', also from pulp magazine line.

Demise

Street & Smith stopped publishing all their pulps and comics in 1949, selling off several of their titles to

Popular Publications Popular Publications was one of the largest publishers of pulp magazines during its existence, at one point publishing 42 different titles per month. Company titles included detective fiction, detective, adventure novel, adventure, Romance nove ...

. Sales had declined with the advent of television. Street & Smith continued to publish ''Astounding Science Fiction'' well into the late 1950s.

Condé Nast Publications Condé is a French place name and personal name. It is ultimately derived from a Celtic word, "Condate", meaning "confluence" (of two rivers) - from which was derived the Romanised form "Condatum", in use during the Roman period, and thence to t ...

, a subsidiary of the Newhouse family's

Advance Publications Advance Publications, Inc., doing business as Advance, is an American media company owned by the descendants of S.I. Newhouse Sr., Donald Newhouse and S.I. Newhouse Jr. It owns a large number of subsidiary companies, including Condé Nast, an ...

, bought the company for more than $3.5 million in 1959."Advertising: Street & Smith to Newhouse," ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' (Aug. 26, 1959). The company's name continued to be used on the sports pre-season preview magazines until 2007 when Advance division

American City Business Journals American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor News ...

acquired the ''

Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'', originally ''The Sporting News'', and merged Street & Smith's annuals into ''TSN''s annuals. However, in 2017, American City Business Journals revived the Street & Smith name for its sports annuals. The Street & Smith name survives as the named publisher of ''

Sports Business Journal American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor News ...

'', a Condé Nast periodical.

Authors

Horatio Alger Horatio Alger Jr. (; January 13, 1832 – July 18, 1899) was an American author who wrote young adult novels about impoverished boys and their rise from humble backgrounds to lives of middle-class security and comfort through good works. His wri ...

Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...

John W. Campbell John Wood Campbell Jr. (June 8, 1910 – July 11, 1971) was an American science fiction writer and editor. He was editor of ''Astounding Science Fiction'' (later called ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'') from late 1937 until his death ...

* Weldon J. Cobb *

William Wallace Cook William Wallace Cook (1867-1933) also known by the pen-name John Milton Edwards, was an American journalist and author of popular fiction. His works include westerns, adventure stories, dime novels The dime novel is a form of late 19th-cent ...

John R. Coryell John Russell Coryell (December 15, 1851 in New York City – July 15, 1924 in Readfield, Maine) was a prolific dime novel author. He wrote under the Nicholas Carter and Bertha M. Clay house pseudonyms, and, like many of his fellow dime novelist ...

Lester Dent Lester Dent (October 12, 1904 – March 11, 1959) was an American pulp-fiction writer, best known as the creator and main writer of the series of novels about the scientist and adventurer Doc Savage. The 159 Doc Savage novels that Dent wrote over ...

Theodore Dreiser Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (; August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm mora ...

* J. Allan Dunn *

Paul Ernst (American writer) Paul Frederick Ernst (November 7, 1899 – September 21, 1985) was an American pulp fiction writer. He is best known as the writer of the original 24 "Avenger" novels, published by Street & Smith under the house name Kenneth Robeson. Biography ...

Walter B. Gibson Walter Brown Gibson (September 12, 1897 – December 6, 1985) was an Americans, American writer and professional magic (illusion), magician, best known for his work on the pulp magazine, pulp fiction character ''The Shadow''. Gibson, under the ...

* H. Rider Haggard *

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...

L. Ron Hubbard Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author, primarily of science fiction and fantasy stories, who is best known for having founded the Church of Scientology. In 1950, Hubbard authored '' Dianeti ...

Carl Richard Jacobi Carl Richard Jacobi (10 July 1908 – 25 August 1997) was an American journalist and writer. He wrote short stories in the horror and fantasy genres for the pulp magazine market, appearing in such pulps of the bizarre and uncanny as ''Thrilling' ...

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

* John Hovey Robinson (1820–67) *

Clifford D. Simak Clifford Donald Simak (; August 3, 1904 – April 25, 1988) was an American science fiction writer. He won three Hugo Awards and one Nebula Award. The Science Fiction Writers of America made him its third SFWA Grand Master, and the Horror Wr ...

Upton Sinclair Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American writer, muckraker, political activist and the 1934 Democratic Party nominee for governor of California who wrote nearly 100 books and other works in seve ...

Illustrators

Walter M. Baumhofer Walter Martin Baumhofer (November 1, 1904September 23, 1987) was an American illustrator notable for his cover paintings seen on the pulp magazines of Street & Smith and other publishers. Baumhofer's parents immigrated from Germany. His father ...

Earle K. Bergey Earle K. Bergey (August 26, 1901 – September 30, 1952) was an American artist and illustrator who painted cover art for thousands of pulp fiction magazines and paperback books. One of the most prolific pulp fiction artists of the 20th century ...

Edd Cartier Edward Daniel Cartier (August 1, 1914 – December 25, 2008), known professionally as Edd Cartier, was an American pulp magazine illustrator who specialized in science fiction and fantasy art. Born in North Bergen, New Jersey, Cartier studied at ...

* Emery Clarke *

Dean Cornwell Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

Harvey Dunn Harvey Thomas Dunn NA (March 8, 1884 – October 29, 1952) was an American painter and teacher. He is best known for his prairie-intimate masterpiece, ''The Prairie is My Garden'' (1950). In this painting, a mother and her two children ar ...

* Anton Otto Fisher * Frank Kramer *

J. C. Leyendecker Joseph Christian Leyendecker (March 23, 1874 – July 25, 1951) was a German-American illustrator, considered one of the preeminent American illustrators of the early 20th century. He is best known for his poster, book and advertising illustrati ...

* Tom Lovell *

Hubert Rogers Hubert is a Germanic masculine given name, from ''hug'' "mind" and '' beraht'' "bright". It also occurs as a surname. Saint Hubertus or Hubert (c. 656 – 30 May 727) is the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians, and metalworkers ...

* Harold Winfield Scott * Amos Sewell *

Modest Stein Modest Stein (1871–1958), born Modest Aronstam, was a Lithuanian Jewish and American illustrator and close associate of the anarchists Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldman. He was Berkman's cousin and intended replacement in the attempted assass ...

N.C. Wyeth Newell Convers Wyeth (October 22, 1882 – October 19, 1945), known as N. C. Wyeth, was an American painter and illustrator. He was the pupil of Howard Pyle and became one of America's most well-known illustrators. Wyeth created more than 3,000 ...

Notes

References

* ''The Writer: A Monthly Magazine for Literary Workers''. January–December 1919. (An excellent description of Street & Smith's rejection policy.) * ''The Fiction Factory; Or, From Pulp Row to Quality Street: The Story of 100 Years of Publishing at Street & Smith'' by Quentin James Reynolds. Random House, 1955. (Covers: Street & Smith, Nick Carter, Max Brand, Buffalo Bill, Frank Merriwell, Gerald Smith, Richard Duffy, Frederick Faust, dime novel, Horatio Alger, Henry Ralston, Ned Buntline, Ormond Smith, Beadle's, Edward Stratemeyer, detective fiction, Laura Jean Libbey, ''Astounding Science Fiction'', Edith Evans) *
Carl Jacobi stories for Street & Smith
* ''The Pulp Jungle'' by Frank Gruber (1967).

External links

Street and Smith Digital Collection

at Syracuse University {{DEFAULTSORT:Street and Smith Defunct book publishing companies of the United States Comic book publishing companies of the United States Publishing companies established in 1855 Defunct comics and manga publishing companies Defunct newspaper companies of the United States Magazine publishing companies of the United States Pulp magazine publishing companies of the United States 1855 establishments in New York (state) 1959 disestablishments in New York (state)