The World Publishing Company was an American publishing company. The company published genre fiction, trade paperbacks, children's literature,

nonfiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...

books, textbooks, Bibles, and

dictionaries A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologies, p ...

,"WORLD PUBLISHING CO."
''The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History''. Accessed Mar. 3, 2017. primarily from 1940 to 1980. Authors published by World Publishing Company include

Ruth Nanda Anshen Ruth Nanda Anshen (June 14, 1900 – December 2, 2003) was an American philosopher, author and editor. She was the author of several books including ''The Anatomy of Evil'', ''Biography of An Idea'', ''Morals Equals Manners'' and ''The Mystery ...

Michael Crichton John Michael Crichton (; October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008) was an American author and filmmaker. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films. His literary works heavily feature tech ...

Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, and even th ...

, Robert Ludlum,

Sam Moskowitz Sam Moskowitz (June 30, 1920 – April 15, 1997) was an American writer, critic, and historian of science fiction. Biography As a child, Moskowitz greatly enjoyed reading science fiction pulp magazines. As a teenager, he organized a branch of ...

Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...

, Rex Stout, Gay Talese, and Lin Yutang. Originally headquartered in Cleveland, the company later added an office in New York City. The company's Cleveland headquarters were located in the Caxton Building."Caxton Building,"
''Encyclopedia of Cleveland History''. Accessed Mar. 2, 2017. World Publishing was notable for publishing the first edition of '' Webster's New World Dictionary'' in 1951, which contained 142,000 entries, said to be the largest American desk dictionary available at the time. The company also had a vibrant children's book division, and published the first edition of Eric Carle's '' The Very Hungry Caterpillar'' in 1969. World Publishing Company is not related to the original owners of the '' Omaha World-Herald'' or '' Tulsa World'' (also called "World Publishing Co.").

History

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

immigrant Alfred H. Cahen founded the Commercial Bookbinding Co. in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, in 1902, expanding and adding a printing plant by 1912. In 1928 Cahen bought out his largest competitor, New York's World Syndicate Publishing Co., officially taking on the name World Publishing Co. in 1935. (At that point, the company added an office in New York City.) At the time the largest publisher of the

King James Bible The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

, in 1940 Cahen's son-in-law, Ben Zevin, expanded the company's output by publishing inexpensive editions of classic literature, which were sold in variety stores and

drugstores A pharmacy (also called "drugstore" in American English or "community pharmacy" or "chemist" in Commonwealth English, or rarely, apothecary) is a retail shop which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmacis ...

as well as bookstores. Under Zevin's leadership, in 1940 World Publishing introduced the hugely popular Tower Books imprint: a 49-cent line of hardcovers which featured such authors as mystery writer Rex Stout. (This "Tower Books" was not related to the Tower Publications imprint that operated from 1958 to 1981.) From 1942 to 1964

William Targ William Targ (1907 – July 22, 1999) was an American book editor, well respected in the field of commercial publishing. He is known for publishing Mario Puzo's novel ''The Godfather'' while editor in chief of G. P. Putnam's Sons. Life and career ...

worked as an editor for World Publishing, eventually becoming editor-in-chief. As time passed, World Publishing expanded its repertoire to all types of fiction, nonfiction, sports, the classics, and philosophy. The Times Mirror Company acquired World Publishing in 1962.UPI
"Ben Zevin Dies at 88; Leader Of World Publishing Company,"
''New York Times'' (December 29, 1984). By this time, World Publishing was producing 12 million books a year, one of only three American publishers to produce that much volume. In 1974, the Times Mirror Co. sold World Publishing to the U.K.-based

Collins Publishers 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 C ...

, with the trade publishing remaining with Times Mirror's New American Library subsidiary. In 1980 Collins broke up World Publishing, selling its children's line to the Putnam Publishing Group, the dictionary line to Simon and Schuster, and otherwise ridding itself of World's assets.

Titles published (selected)

* Anshen, Ruth Nanda and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. ''Letters to Two Friends, 1926-1952'' (Perspectives in Humanism series) * Bassett, James. '' Harm's Way'' (1962) * Behn, Harry ''

The Faraway Lurs Harry Behn (September 24, 1898September 6, 1973) was an American screenwriter and children's author. He was involved in writing scenes and continuities for a number of screenplays, including the war film ''The Big Parade ''in 1925, and '' Hel ...

'' (1963) * Carle, Eric. '' The Very Hungry Caterpillar'' (1969) * Chandler, Raymond. ''Time to Kill''. (1946) ASIN B0007ED26I * Crichton, Michael (writing as John Lange). ''

The Venom Business ''The Venom Business'' is Michael Crichton's seventh published novel, and the fifth under his pseudonym John Lange. It was released in 1969 by The World Publishing Company (New York) under the pseudonym of John Lange. It was the first hard cover ...

'' (1969) * Cope, Myron. ''The Game That Was: The Early Days of Pro Football'' (1970) * de Beauvoir, Simone. ''

The Mandarins ''The Mandarins'' (french: Les Mandarins) is a 1954 roman à clef by Simone de Beauvoir, for which she won the Prix Goncourt, awarded to the best and most imaginative prose work of the year, in 1954. ''The Mandarins'' was first published in Engli ...

'' (1954) — first English-language edition * Dreiser, Theodore. ''

Trilogy of Desire The ''Trilogy of Desire'' is a series of three novels by Theodore Dreiser: *''The Financier'' (1912) *'' The Titan'' (1914) *''The Stoic'' (1947) The protagonist of the trilogy, Frank Algernon Cowperwood, was modeled after financier Charles Yerk ...

'' (1972) * Hammett, Dashiell ** ''Blood Money'' (1943) — hardcover edition of ''Bestseller Mystery'' B40 (Tower imprint) ** ''Dashiell Hammett's Mystery Omnibus'' (1944) — includes '' The Maltese Falcon'' and '' The Glass Key'' ** ''The Adventures of Sam Spade and Other Stories'' (1945) — hardcover edition of ''Bestseller Mystery'' B50 * Havinghurst, Walter (1958). ''Vein of Iron: The Pickands-Mather Story'' *

Hobsbawm, Eric Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm (; 9 June 1917 – 1 October 2012) was a British historian of the rise of industrial capitalism, socialism and nationalism. A life-long Marxist, his socio-political convictions influenced the character of his work. ...

** '' The Age of Revolution: Europe 1789–1848'' (1962) ** ''

Bandits Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, and murder, either as an ...

'' (1969) * Höss, Rudolph. ''Commandant of Auschwitz: The Autobiography of Rudolf Höß''. Translated by Constantine FitzGibbon (1959) *

Kazin, Alfred Alfred Kazin (June 5, 1915 – June 5, 1998) was an American writer and literary critic. He wrote often about the immigrant experience in early twentieth century America. Early life Like many other New York Intellectuals, Alfred Kazin was t ...

, ed. '' F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Man and His Work'' (1951) * Kramer, Jerry & Dick Schaap. '' Instant Replay: The Green Bay Diary of Jerry Kramer'' (1968) * Lowry, Malcolm. ''

October Ferry to Gabriola ''October Ferry to Gabriola'' is a novel by Malcolm Lowry. Edited by his widow Margerie Bonner, it was posthumously published in 1970. It is an existential love story featuring a Lowry-like character, Ethan Llewelyn, and his wife, in their never ...

'' (1970) * Ludlum, Robert ** ''

The Scarlatti Inheritance ''The Scarlatti Inheritance'' is the first of 27 thriller novels written (the last four of them left in the form of manuscripts, later finalized by ghost writers) by American author Robert Ludlum. Premise In Washington during World War II, word ...

'' (1971) ** ''

The Osterman Weekend ''The Osterman Weekend'' is a thriller novel by Robert Ludlum. First published in 1972, it was the author's second book. The novel was the basis for the film of the same title. Plot John Tanner, Director of News of a US TV network, is convinc ...

'' (1972) * Mailer, Norman. ''

Miami and the Siege of Chicago ''Miami and the Siege of Chicago: An Informal History of the Republican and Democratic Conventions of 1968'' is a non-fiction novel written by Norman Mailer which covers the Republican and Democratic national party political conventions of 19 ...

'' (1968) *

Moskowitz, Sam Sam Moskowitz (June 30, 1920 – April 15, 1997) was an American writer, critic, and historian of science fiction. Biography As a child, Moskowitz greatly enjoyed reading science fiction pulp magazines. As a teenager, he organized a branch of ...

, ed. ** '' Modern Masterpieces of Science Fiction'' (1965) ** '' Seekers of Tomorrow: Masters of Modern Science Fiction'' (1965) ** '' Masterpieces of Science Fiction'' (1966) ** '' Explorers of the Infinite: Shapers of Science Fiction'' (1966) * Norton, Andre. '' Storm Over Warlock'' (1960) * Peyton, K. M. ''

The Edge of the Cloud ''The Edge of the Cloud'' is a 1969 historical novel written for children or young adults by K. M. Peyton. It was the second book in Peyton's original Flambards trilogy, comprising three books published by Oxford with illustrations by Victor Amb ...

'' (1969) * Rabi, Isidor Isaac. ''Science: The Center of Culture'' (1970) * Rand, Ayn. '' The Romantic Manifesto'' (1969) * Sauvage, Leo. ''The Oswald Affair'' (1966, 1967) * Scott-Heron, Gil. ''The Vulture'' (1970) * Southern, Terry. ''

Blue Movie ''Blue Movie'' (also known as ''Fuck'') is a 1969 American erotic film written, produced and directed by Andy Warhol. It is the first adult erotic film depicting explicit sex to receive wide theatrical release in the United States, and is re ...

'' (1970) * Talese, Gay ** ''

The Kingdom and the Power ''The Kingdom and the Power: Behind the Scenes at The New York Times: The Institution That Influences the World'' is a 1969 book by Gay Talese about the inner workings of ''The New York Times'', the newspaper where Talese had worked for 12 years. ...

'' (1969) ** ''

Honor Thy Father ''Honor Thy Father'' is a 1971 book by Gay Talese, about the travails of the Bonanno crime family in the 1960s, especially Salvatore Bonanno and his father Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno. Background In 1965, Gay Talese left his job as a repor ...

'' (1971) * Thompson, Bard. ''Liturgies of the Western Church'' (1961) * Westlake, Donald E. (writing as Richard Stark) ''Lemons Never Lie'' (1971) * Woodcock, George. ''

Anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessa ...

'' (1962) * Wright, Richard ** ''

The Color Curtain African-American author Richard Wright's book ''The Color Curtain: A Report on the Bandung Conference'' (Cleveland and New York: World, 1956) is based on his impressions and analysis of the postcolonial Asian-African Conference, which was a gather ...

'' (1956) ** ''Eight Men'' (1961)

Book series

* Forum Books * Holly Books * Illustrated Gift Editions * Jewish Publication Society Series (jointly published with Jewish Publication Society of America) * Living Age Books * Living Library * Meridian Books (also published by The Noonday Press) * Meridian Giants * Perspectives in Humanism * Shepherd Books * Tower Books * World Books * World Foreign Language Record Series

Imprints

* International Fiction LibraryInternational Fiction Library
owu.edu. Retrieved 8 September 2020. * Meridian Books

References

External links

World Publishing Company Records
at Kent State University
Finding aid for the World Publishing Company Records
at Western Reserve Historical Society {{DEFAULTSORT:World Publishing Company) Defunct book publishing companies of the United States Book publishing companies based in New York (state) Book publishing companies based in Ohio Publishing companies based in New York City Publishing companies established in 1902 1902 establishments in Ohio 1935 establishments in New York City 1980 disestablishments