Stackpole Books is a trade

publishing company Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania Mechanicsburg is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough is west of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area. As of the ...

. It was founded by Edward J. Stackpole in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

, in 1930 and was moved to its current headquarters in 1993. Stackpole publishes nonfiction books in the areas of crafts, outdoors, regional and travel, military history, and military reference. The current CEO is M. David Detweiler, and the Publisher and Editorial Director is Judith Schnell.

History

The publishing company that became Stackpole Books has its origins with the ''Evening Telegraph'' in

, which was founded in the early 19th century. In 1901, controlling interest in the Telegraph Press was acquired by E. J. Stackpole Sr. The business was carried on by Stackpole's son, Edward J. Stackpole Jr., a decorated general in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

who received the Distinguished Service Cross, the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

, and three

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

s. In 1930, the National Service Publishing Company, based in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

and established in 1921, was acquired by Telegraph. Renamed Military Service Publishing Company. It published textbooks for the military services, including ''Army Officer’s Guide'', which is still in print in an updated edition by Stackpole Books. Also in 1930, E. J. Stackpole Jr. and his brother Albert Stackpole began a trade company called Stackpole Sons, with additional offices in New York City. Stackpole Sons published books starting in 1936 on a variety of subjects, including fiction by Damon Runyon and John Fante and autobiographies by

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

and

Huey Long Huey Pierce Long Jr. (August 30, 1893September 10, 1935), nicknamed "The Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a United States senator from 1932 until his assassination i ...

. Both Military Service Publishing Company and Stackpole Sons were divisions of Telegraph Press. A brief merger of Stackpole Sons with the Heck Company in the 1940s resulted in the short-lived Stackpole & Heck. After the union dissolved, the trade division became the Stackpole Company. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Military Services Publishing Company produced small, inexpensive paperback reprints of fiction titles for soldiers. About twice the size of Armed Services Editions (ASEs), these books were still small enough to carry easily in military uniform cargo pockets. These "Superior Reprints" complemented the ASE titles and leaned toward mystery and detective fiction. Like the ASEs, these books were entertaining and noncontroversial in content; but, unlike the ASEs, they were not free to the soldiers. In the 1950s, Stackpole developed a strong emphasis on nonfiction books, especially outdoors and history titles. In outdoors, the house published several successful and well-regarded works by wilderness survivalist Bradford Angier, including ''Feasting Free on Wild Edibles'', ''Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants'', ''Field Guide to Medicinal Wild Plants'', and ''Looking for Gold'', all of which are still in print today in new editions. E. J. Stackpole Jr. himself was an esteemed author of

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

history; his popular titles for the house are ''They Met at Gettysburg'', ''The Fredericksburg Campaign'', ''Chancellorsville'', and ''Sheridan in the Shenandoah''. In 1959, Stackpole and Military Service merged into a single company, Stackpole Books. In recent years, the house has continued publishing in military reference, history, and outdoors. Stackpole has been especially noted for their books on

fly fishing Fly fishing is an angling technique that uses an ultra-lightweight lure called an artificial fly, which typically mimics small invertebrates such as flying and aquatic insects to attract and catch fish. Because the mass of the fly lure is in ...

. New lines include crafts, regional, and travel books. In 2015, Stackpole Books was bought by

Rowman & Littlefield Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an American independent academic publishing company founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns ...

. Stackpole Magazines were sold to Ampry Publishing in 2016.

Superior Reprints

Military Services Publishing Company produced a series of paperback books called "Superior Reprints" in 1944 and 1945. Twenty-one titles were published in this series, consecutively numbered from M637 to M657. Each book was priced at 25¢. The complete series of Superior Reprints consists of: * (M637) ''White Magic'' by Faith Baldwin * (M638) '' Ol' Man Adam an' His Chillun'' by Roark Bradford * (M639) ''Unexpected Night'' by Elizabeth Daly * (M640) ''An April Afternoon'' by

Philip Wylie Philip Gordon Wylie (May 12, 1902 – October 25, 1971) was an American writer of works ranging from pulp science fiction, mysteries, social diatribes and satire to ecology and the threat of nuclear holocaust. Early life and career Born in Bever ...

* (M641) ''Family Affair'' by Ione Sandberg Shriber * (M642) ''The Rynox Murder Mystery'' by Philip MacDonald * (M643) ''Cartoons'' by George Price * (M644) ''Embarrassment of Riches'' by Marjorie Fischer * (M645) ''Murder in Mink'' by Robert George Dean * (M646) ''The Love Nest and Other Stories'' by Ring Lardner * (M647) ''Inquest'' by Percival Wilde * (M648) ''One Foot in Heaven'' by Hartzell Spence * (M649) ''The Navy Colt'' by Frank Gruber * (M650) '' The Informer'' by

Liam O'Flaherty Liam O'Flaherty ( ; 28 August 1896 – 7 September 1984) was an Irish novelist and short-story writer, and one of the foremost socialist writers in the first part of the 20th century, writing about the common people's experience and from their ...

* (M651) ''Mr. Angel Comes Aboard'' by Charles G. Booth * (M652) '' This Gun for Hire'' by

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 novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a re ...

* (M653) ''The House Without the Door'' by Elizabeth Daly * (M654) ''On Ice'' by Robert George Dean * (M655) ''The Mighty Blockhead'' by Frank Gruber * (M656) ''A Saki Sampler'' by H. H. Munro * (M657) ''Good Night, Sheriff'' by Harrison R. Steeves

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1930 establishments in Pennsylvania Book publishing companies based in Pennsylvania Companies based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Publishing companies established in 1930