Publishers

Phaidon Press has been one of the pioneers of the art book format since the mid-1930s. Every aspect of art is showcased in their books - photography, classical art, pop art, history of art, fashion, architecture, decorative arts, and all the major artistic movements.

In 1941, with Britain facing invasion by Germany, Collins published series of social history books called Britain in Pictures to create a record of British life. George Orwell, Graham Greene and Edith Sitwell were among the writers to contribute books. Today, these books are highly collectable.

Penguin Books was founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with the purpose of inexpensively producing high quality, but affordable, paperbacks. One of Penguin's strategies was to implement standardised designs for book covers.

You might have never read a Mills & Boon book but you know exactly what this publisher offers - romance, more romance and even more romance. You can recognize those covers a mile away - the tall dark hero, six-pack visible, and a swooning girl.

It’s a story you may have heard before but the tale surrounding the birth of Penguin is always worth retelling. Step back to 1935 and the publication of the first 10 Penguin books. Each one cost just six pence at a time when hardcovers were priced at seven or eight shillings – those 10 books revolutionized publishing.

Pelican Books is the non-fiction imprint of Penguin Books. While the Penguin umbrella may be best-known for fiction and for keen design, the Pelican imprint was brought about with an eye on education over entertainment.

Fine presses, private presses and small presses vary from traditional publishing houses because of their size, scope and intention. Books produced by these publishers are often adored by collectors who desire books that are not run-of-the-mill.

Fans of science fiction owe a great debt of gratitude to Ace Books. This pioneering publisher helped shape the genre by promoting influential authors and numerous important titles during the 1950s and 1960s.

Standing like an island amid the sea of cheap mass produced paperbacks and formulaic new releases, is the Folio Society. This organization is half publisher, half book club, and was founded in 1947 on the principle that books should be beautiful to the eye as well as captivating to the mind.

The Franklin Library, a division of The Franklin Mint, was a publisher of fine collector edition books from the early 1970s until 2000.

Penguin Drop Caps is a series of 26 rainbow-hued hardcover editions of literature's finest treasures. An edition for each letter of the alphabet, the series features authors from A (Jane Austen) to Z (Carlos Ruiz Zafon).