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William Collins, Sons (often referred to as Collins) was a Scottish printing and publishing company founded by a
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
schoolmaster, William Collins, in
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
in 1819, in partnership with Charles Chalmers, the younger brother of
Thomas Chalmers Thomas Chalmers (17 March 178031 May 1847), was a Scottish minister, professor of theology, political economist, and a leader of both the Church of Scotland and of the Free Church of Scotland. He has been called "Scotland's greatest nine ...
, minister of Tron Church, Glasgow. Collins merged with
Harper & Row Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins based in New York City. History J. & J. Harper (1817–1833) James Harper and his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishin ...
in 1990, forming a new publisher named
HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...
.


History

The company had to overcome many early obstacles, and Charles Chalmers left the business in 1825. The company eventually found success in 1841 as a printer of Bibles, and, in 1848, Collins's son
Sir William Collins Sir William Collins (1817–1895) was a Scottish publisher, prominent in the temperance movement who served as Glasgow's Lord Provost between 1877 and 1880. He was the first fully abstaining Lord Provost of Glasgow and gained the nickname ...
developed the firm as a publishing venture, specialising in
religious Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...
and educational books. The company was renamed William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd. in 1868. (The
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
reports W. Collins & Co., or William Collins & Company, Collins & Co., etc., before "sometime in the 1860s", then "William Collins Sons and Co.") Although the early emphasis of the company had been on religion and education, Collins also published more widely. In 1917, with Sir Godfrey Collins in charge, the firm started publishing fiction.
Collins Crime Club Collins Crime Club was an imprint of British book publishers William Collins, Sons and ran from 6 May 1930 to April 1994. Throughout its 64 years the club issued a total of 2,012in "The Hooded Gunman -- An Illustrated History of Collins Crime ...
(1930–94) published all but the first six of
Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...
's novels, starting in 1926, as well as the British editions of
Rex Stout Rex Todhunter Stout (; December 1, 1886 – October 27, 1975) was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. His best-known characters are the detective Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin, who were featured in 33 novels and ...
's
Nero Wolfe Nero Wolfe is a brilliant, obese and eccentric fictional armchair detective created in 1934 by American mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe was born in Montenegro and keeps his past murky. He lives in a luxurious brownstone on West 35th Street in Ne ...
books and many others from the
Golden Age of Detective Fiction The Golden Age of Detective Fiction was an era of classic murder mystery novels of similar patterns and styles, predominantly in the 1920s and 1930s. The Golden Age proper is, in practice, usually taken to refer to a type of fiction which was pre ...
. Upon purchasing the rights to the works of
C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...
, Fount was established as Collins's religion imprint. Collins ultimately became a diverse and prolific company, publishing a wide range of titles, including many aimed at a juvenile audience, such as the books of
Dr. Seuss Theodor Seuss Geisel (;"Seuss"
'' the Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the ...
) and Racey Helps in the 1950s. By the late 1970s, Collins was also responsible for publishing the long-running American Children's
Hardy Boys The Hardy Boys, brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional characters who appear in several mystery series for children and teens. The series revolves around teenagers who are amateur sleuths, solving cases that stumped their adult counterpa ...
and
Nancy Drew Nancy Drew is a Fictional character, fictional character appearing in several Mystery fiction, mystery book series, movies, and a TV show as a teenage amateur sleuth. The books are ghostwriter, ghostwritten by a number of authors and published ...
series in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. These were firstly published in a series of
digest size Digest size is a magazine size, smaller than a conventional or "journal size" magazine but larger than a standard paperback book, approximately , but can also be and , similar to the size of a DVD case. These sizes have evolved from the printin ...
hardbacks akin to their American style. Paperbacks (of a 'normal' rather than 'digest' size) soon followed from Collins'
Armada Books Armada Books was a British publishing imprint that used to publish paperback titles from 1962 until 1995. Created by Gordon Landsborough as the paperback imprint of May Fair Books May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregoria ...
imprint, although the series as published in
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
follow a different numbering system to the accepted American one. Collins's Armada Books imprint also published similar series, such as the ''
Three Investigators The Three Investigators is an American juvenile detective book series first published as "''Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators''". It was created by Robert Arthur Jr., who believed involving a famous person such as movie director Alfr ...
'', alongside such British stalwarts as ''
Biggles James Bigglesworth, nicknamed "Biggles", is a fictional pilot and adventurer, the title character and hero of the ''Biggles'' series of adventure books, written for young readers by W. E. Johns (1893–1968). Biggles made his first appearance ...
'', ''
Billy Bunter William George Bunter is a fictional schoolboy created by Charles Hamilton using the pen name Frank Richards. He features in stories set at Greyfriars School, a fictional English public school in Kent, originally published in the boys' weekly ...
'', and ''
Paddington Bear Paddington Bear is a fictional character in children's literature. He first appeared on 13 October 1958 in the children's book ''A Bear Called Paddington'' and has been featured in more than twenty books written by British author Michael Bond, a ...
'', and such well-loved authors as
Enid Blyton Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer, whose books have been worldwide bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Her books are still enormously popular and have b ...
,
Malcolm Saville Leonard Malcolm Saville (21 February 1901–30 June 1982)
Retrieved 16 July 2016
was an English writer best known for the ...
and
Diana Pullein-Thompson Diana Pullein-Thompson, later Diana Farr (1 October 1925 – 21 September 2015) was a British horsewoman and writer known for her pony books. Her mother and two sisters also wrote and together they created a large number of children's books - and ...
. In the years 1941-49 Collins published Britain in Pictures, a series of social history books which were designed to boost morale during the Second World War. Authors included
George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...
, John Piper,
Neville Cardus Sir John Frederick Neville Cardus, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (2 April 188828 February 1975) was an English writer and critic. From an impoverished home background, and mainly self-educated, he became ''The Manchester Gua ...
,
Cecil Beaton Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as an Oscar–winning stage and costume designer for films and the theat ...
,
Vita Sackville-West Victoria Mary, Lady Nicolson, CH (née Sackville-West; 9 March 1892 – 2 June 1962), usually known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English author and garden designer. Sackville-West was a successful novelist, poet and journalist, as wel ...
, David Low,
Francis Meynell Sir Francis Meredith Wilfrid Meynell (12 May 1891 – 10 July 1975) was a British poet and printer at The Nonesuch Press. Early career He was the son of the journalist and publisher Wilfrid Meynell and the poet Alice Meynell, a suffragist a ...
,
Edith Sitwell Dame Edith Louisa Sitwell (7 September 1887 – 9 December 1964) was a British poet and critic and the eldest of the three literary Sitwells. She reacted badly to her eccentric, unloving parents and lived much of her life with her governess ...
,
Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...
and
John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...
. Collins founded its ''
New Naturalist The New Naturalist Library (also known as ''The New Naturalists'') is a series of books published by Collins in the United Kingdom, on a variety of natural history topics relevant to the British Isles. The aim of the series at the start was: "To ...
'' series of nature books relevant to the
British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
in 1945, with ''Butterflies'' by E. B. Ford. Three volumes appeared in the summer of 2015. In 1953, Collins launched its
Fontana Books HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Corp ...
series. Later Fontana Books became a Collins imprint complete with its own series, including the Fontana Monarchs, the Fontana African Fiction series and, from 1970, the
Fontana Modern Masters The Fontana Modern Masters was a series of pocket guides on writers, philosophers, and other thinkers and theorists who shaped the intellectual landscape of the twentieth century. The first five titles were published on 12 January 1970 by Fontana ...
, a series of pocket guides to influential writers, philosophers and other thinkers and theorists of the twentieth century. Other William Collins, Sons, imprints included Fontana Lions and Fontana Young Lions, which published books for children and teenagers, and
Grafton Books Grafton was a British paperback imprint established 1981 by Granada Publishing Ltd, a subsidiary of media company Granada Group Ltd. It was named after the publishing company's then address, 8 Grafton Street, in central London. Other paperback ...
. In 1965 Collins began publication of The Companion Guides, a series of illustrated travel guides to France, the Mediterranean lands and the British Isles. In the mid 1970s, Collins had either closed or moved most of its printing operations out of its historic site in the
Townhead Townhead ( gd, Ceann a' Bhaile, sco, Tounheid) is an area of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated immediately north-east of Glasgow city centre and contains a residential sector (redeveloped from an older neighbourhood in the mid 20th ...
area of Glasgow. The land and buildings were purchased by the
University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...
who redeveloped much of the site, with the massive warehouse building on Cathedral Street being converted into a new home for the
Andersonian Library The Andersonian Library is the university library of the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. Established in 1796, it is one of the largest of its type in Scotland. Access to the Library is restricted to Strathclyde student and o ...
in 1980.
News Corporation News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Ne ...
acquired a 40% stake in 1981. In 1983, Collins acquired the publishing operations of
Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...
. News Corporation became sole owner in 1989. In 1990, the company was merged with US publisher
Harper & Row Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins based in New York City. History J. & J. Harper (1817–1833) James Harper and his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishin ...
to form
HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...
. Collins became an imprint of HarperCollins. On 8 February 2013 it was announced that some parts of the Collins non-fiction imprint would be merged with the HarperPress imprint to form a new William Collins imprint.


Collins Education

Collins Education, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, is the third-largest educational publishing house in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. It publishes print and interactive digital products for primary and secondary teachers in the United Kingdom and internationally. In 2010, Collins Education acquired Belair Creative, a British publisher specialising in art and design resources for British primary students;
Letts and Lonsdale Letts and Lonsdale is a British educational publisher of revision guides under the Letts and Lonsdale brand names. The company is a subsidiary of HarperCollins, an international publisher owned by News Corporation, and is within the company's Col ...
, a major UK publisher of revision guides; and Leckie & Leckie, a Scottish educational publisher. In 2011, Collins Education launched Collins Online Learning, an online learning platform for students and teachers.Collins Online Learning
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References


Further reading

* Thomas Burke,
English Inns
' - example of Britain in Pictures series * Michaael Carney, ''Britain in Pictures: A History and Bibliography'', Werner Shaw, 1995.


External links

* * {{Authority control Book publishing companies of Scotland Publishing companies established in 1819 1819 establishments in Scotland Publishing companies disestablished in 1990 * News Corporation subsidiaries