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Gnome Press

January 01, 1970

Gnome Press was an American small-press publishing company primarily known for publishing many science fiction classics.[1] Gnome was one of the most eminent of the fan publishers of SF, producing 86 titles in its lifespan — many considered classic works of SF and Fantasy today. Gnome was important in the transitional period between Genre SF as a magazine phenomenon and its arrival in mass-market book publishing, but proved too underfunded to make the leap from fan-based publishing to the professional level. The company existed for just over a decade, ultimately failing due to inability to compete with major publishers who also started to publish science fiction. In its heyday, Gnome published many of the major SF authors, and in some cases, as with Robert E. Howard's Conan series (published in six books from 1950 – 1955) and Isaac Asimov's Foundation series (published in three books from 1951 – 1953), was responsible for the manner in which their stories were collected into book form.

Gnome Press
StatusDefunct 1962
Founded1948
FounderMartin Greenberg and David A. Kyle
Defunct1962 
Country of originUnited States
Headquarters locationNew York City
Publication typesBooks
Fiction genresscience fiction

Foundation edit

The company was founded in 1948 by Martin Greenberg and David A. Kyle, New York science fiction fans and members of the Hydra Club; Kyle was also a Futurian. Greenberg had previously been a partner of specialty press New Collectors Group, which had published The Black Wheel. The address was Gnome Press, Inc., 80 E. 11th St. New York 3, N.Y.[2] Kyle contributed less and less to the press as other business interests took up more of his time.

Greenberg should not be confused with later SF anthologist Martin H. Greenberg, nor his company with the imprint Greenberg: Publisher, a separate firm established in 1924 and producing some science fiction between 1950 and 1958. There was no association between the two publishers, despite a common assumption among some fans.[3]

History edit

Gnome Press concentrated on authors who were at the height of their popularity writing for Astounding Science Fiction, the American leading science fiction magazine of the time. Authors published by Gnome included Poul Anderson, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C Clarke, L. Sprague de Camp, Gordon R. Dickson, Robert A. Heinlein, C. L. Moore, Clifford D. Simak, and A. E. Van Vogt.

Gnome's early books were well-printed and featured jacket work by Edd Cartier. Gnome editions featured illustrative material (cover art, illustrations, maps and designs) from science fiction artists such as Ric Binkley, Hannes Bok, Chesley Bonestell, Edd Cartier, Lionel Dillon, Frances E. Dunn, Ed Emshwiller, Frank Kelly Freas, James Gibson, Harry Harrison, Mel Hunter, David Kyle, Stan Mack, Murray Tinkelman, L. Robert Tschirky, Walter I. Van der Poel, Jr., and Wallace Wood.

Gnome Press's first book was The Carnelian Cube by Fletcher Pratt and L. Sprague de Camp, an original novel originally contracted by the New Collectors Group. It was the first to publish Isaac Asimov's I, Robot and Foundation Trilogy, brought Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian stories back from pulp obscurity, first published Arthur C. Clarke, and introduced science fiction's first themed anthology, Men Against the Stars.[4] The latter was followed by such other theme anthologies as Journey to Infinity, The Robot and the Man, Travellers of Space, All About the Future, and a book of articles about the future as seen from a science fictional point of view, Coming Attractions.

The press also published many of Robert A. Heinlein's classics, and Children of the Atom by Wilmar Shiras. Andre Norton worked as a reader for Gnome Press in the 1950s, and also had two of her novels, Plague Ship and Sargasso of Space, published by the company under the pseudonym "Andrew North".[5]

Controversy surrounds the Gnome Press editions of Robert E. Howard's "Conan" stories. Though it placed the material in print for the first time since its original appearance in Weird Tales, the seven volumes it published also included one not written by Howard (The Return of Conan) and one of non-Conan Howard stories rewritten as Conan by L. Sprague de Camp (Tales of Conan). The works Gnome published in the Conan series are Conan the Conqueror (1950), The Sword of Conan (1952), The Coming of Conan (1953), King Conan (1953), Conan the Barbarian (1954), Tales of Conan (1955), and The Return of Conan (1957).

The worst selling book in Gnome Press history was 1955's new novel Reprieve from Paradise by H. Chandler Elliott.

Many of Gnome's titles were reprinted in England by Boardman Books.

Book club edit

As Gnome Press started to publish new books, Greenberg and Kyle set up the Fantasy Book Club, a subscription service designed to sell Gnome publications and books from other publishers at a discount. They also produced calendars featuring the black and white fantasy art of Hannes Bok and Edd Cartier. In the waning years of the company (1955 – 1961), Gnome Press bought small quantities of unbound signatures from the defunct specialty publisher Fantasy Press and had them cheaply bound to be sold through its Pick-A-Book operation (a later, revised incarnation of the Fantasy Book Club), an early form of direct-mail sales that formed the basic idea for Doubleday's more successful Science Fiction Book Club. Most of the Gnome Press books were hardcover, but some few titles saw later paperback editions as Greenberg experimented, using his remaining stock of unbound sheets, with several titles bound in inexpensive paper covers as a test to see if such an effort could help to keep the company afloat. But with his Pick-A-Book hardcover titles already going for as little as $1.00 per book, the experiment did not save enough money to be profitable and was dropped (and these few paperbound titles are among the scarcest of Gnome Press collectibles today).

Failure edit

Gnome Press did not have much capital or access to distribution facilities, and relied on selling its books directly to fans by mail. According to Filmfax, Greenberg couldn't keep top science fiction and fantasy writers, who wanted more money and went over to bigger publishers like Doubleday. The larger publishers had more money, marketing and distribution outlets (the ability to sell wholesale to bookstores). Financial mismanagement also cut into Gnome's ability to retain authors. The company was notorious for not paying its writers royalties due, which is ultimately what led to its failure. Author Isaac Asimov claimed he was never paid for the publication of the Foundation books, and called Greenberg "an outright crook".[6] In his biography, I. Asimov: A Memoir, Asimov provides a short chapter on his own frustrating interactions with Gnome Press, as well as some good detail on its publisher, Martin Greenberg. Asimov and other authors were able eventually to get back the rights to their books so they could go to other, more lucrative deals.

Martin Greenberg continued to cut costs at Gnome Press, through smaller editions, cheaper paper, and various promotions to sell back inventory. He was ultimately forced to close due to financial troubles, and Gnome folded in 1962 due to a long drawn-out lawsuit, leaving Arkham House the only American viable small press in the science fiction and fantasy field. When Gnome Press went out of business, it was $100,000 in debt.

Greenberg died in the fall of 2013, and Kyle in the fall of 2016.

Legacy edit

Gnome Press publications are collected, and many of the books in well used condition can be inexpensively obtained (as of 2015 Amazon.com was offering several in the $10–$20 range). Other items are expensive. The calendars are particularly scarce. Among the books I, Robot, either in hardcover form or the Armed Forces paperback edition set from its plates, is in particular demand.[7]

Works published edit

1940s edit

1950s edit

1960s edit

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ . Archived from the original on 2006-06-28. Retrieved 2006-04-03.
  2. ^ Gnome Press Newsletter Image Accessed 2011-12-30
  3. ^ see archives on Greenberg: Publisher at the Columbia University Libraries Archival Collections for correspondence between publisher and authors Theodore Sturgeon and A.E. Van Vogt on their novels, as well as a history of the company
  4. ^ Charlie Jane Anders (2014-03-27). "The Failed Publisher That Gave Us I, Robot And Arthur C. Clarke".
  5. ^ . Archived from the original on 2011-10-12. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
  6. ^ Chalker, Jack L.; Mark Owings (1998). The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923-1998. Westminster, Maryland and Baltimore: Mirage Press, Ltd. pp. 294–311.
  7. ^ "Welcome…". December 23, 2008. Retrieved July 23, 2019.

References edit

  • Chalker, Jack L.; Mark Owings (1998). The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923-1998. Westminster, Maryland and Baltimore: Mirage Press, Ltd. pp. 294–311.
  • Asimov, Isaac (1994). I. Asimov: A Memoir. New York: Doubleday. pp. 157–159. ISBN 978-0-385-41701-3.
  • The Great Gnome Press Science Fiction Odyssey

External links edit

  • Gnome Press: The Complete History and Bibliography

January 01, 1970
gnome, press, american, small, press, publishing, company, primarily, known, publishing, many, science, fiction, classics, gnome, most, eminent, publishers, producing, titles, lifespan, many, considered, classic, works, fantasy, today, gnome, important, transi. Gnome Press was an American small press publishing company primarily known for publishing many science fiction classics 1 Gnome was one of the most eminent of the fan publishers of SF producing 86 titles in its lifespan many considered classic works of SF and Fantasy today Gnome was important in the transitional period between Genre SF as a magazine phenomenon and its arrival in mass market book publishing but proved too underfunded to make the leap from fan based publishing to the professional level The company existed for just over a decade ultimately failing due to inability to compete with major publishers who also started to publish science fiction In its heyday Gnome published many of the major SF authors and in some cases as with Robert E Howard s Conan series published in six books from 1950 1955 and Isaac Asimov s Foundation series published in three books from 1951 1953 was responsible for the manner in which their stories were collected into book form Gnome PressStatusDefunct 1962Founded1948FounderMartin Greenberg and David A KyleDefunct1962 Country of originUnited StatesHeadquarters locationNew York CityPublication typesBooksFiction genresscience fiction Contents 1 Foundation 2 History 3 Book club 4 Failure 5 Legacy 6 Works published 6 1 1940s 6 2 1950s 6 3 1960s 7 Footnotes 8 References 9 External linksFoundation editThe company was founded in 1948 by Martin Greenberg and David A Kyle New York science fiction fans and members of the Hydra Club Kyle was also a Futurian Greenberg had previously been a partner of specialty press New Collectors Group which had published The Black Wheel The address was Gnome Press Inc 80 E 11th St New York 3 N Y 2 Kyle contributed less and less to the press as other business interests took up more of his time Greenberg should not be confused with later SF anthologist Martin H Greenberg nor his company with the imprint Greenberg Publisher a separate firm established in 1924 and producing some science fiction between 1950 and 1958 There was no association between the two publishers despite a common assumption among some fans 3 History editGnome Press concentrated on authors who were at the height of their popularity writing for Astounding Science Fiction the American leading science fiction magazine of the time Authors published by Gnome included Poul Anderson Isaac Asimov Arthur C Clarke L Sprague de Camp Gordon R Dickson Robert A Heinlein C L Moore Clifford D Simak and A E Van Vogt Gnome s early books were well printed and featured jacket work by Edd Cartier Gnome editions featured illustrative material cover art illustrations maps and designs from science fiction artists such as Ric Binkley Hannes Bok Chesley Bonestell Edd Cartier Lionel Dillon Frances E Dunn Ed Emshwiller Frank Kelly Freas James Gibson Harry Harrison Mel Hunter David Kyle Stan Mack Murray Tinkelman L Robert Tschirky Walter I Van der Poel Jr and Wallace Wood Gnome Press s first book was The Carnelian Cube by Fletcher Pratt and L Sprague de Camp an original novel originally contracted by the New Collectors Group It was the first to publish Isaac Asimov s I Robot and Foundation Trilogy brought Robert E Howard s Conan the Barbarian stories back from pulp obscurity first published Arthur C Clarke and introduced science fiction s first themed anthology Men Against the Stars 4 The latter was followed by such other theme anthologies as Journey to Infinity The Robot and the Man Travellers of Space All About the Future and a book of articles about the future as seen from a science fictional point of view Coming Attractions The press also published many of Robert A Heinlein s classics and Children of the Atom by Wilmar Shiras Andre Norton worked as a reader for Gnome Press in the 1950s and also had two of her novels Plague Ship and Sargasso of Space published by the company under the pseudonym Andrew North 5 Controversy surrounds the Gnome Press editions of Robert E Howard s Conan stories Though it placed the material in print for the first time since its original appearance in Weird Tales the seven volumes it published also included one not written by Howard The Return of Conan and one of non Conan Howard stories rewritten as Conan by L Sprague de Camp Tales of Conan The works Gnome published in the Conan series are Conan the Conqueror 1950 The Sword of Conan 1952 The Coming of Conan 1953 King Conan 1953 Conan the Barbarian 1954 Tales of Conan 1955 and The Return of Conan 1957 The worst selling book in Gnome Press history was 1955 s new novel Reprieve from Paradise by H Chandler Elliott Many of Gnome s titles were reprinted in England by Boardman Books Book club editAs Gnome Press started to publish new books Greenberg and Kyle set up the Fantasy Book Club a subscription service designed to sell Gnome publications and books from other publishers at a discount They also produced calendars featuring the black and white fantasy art of Hannes Bok and Edd Cartier In the waning years of the company 1955 1961 Gnome Press bought small quantities of unbound signatures from the defunct specialty publisher Fantasy Press and had them cheaply bound to be sold through its Pick A Book operation a later revised incarnation of the Fantasy Book Club an early form of direct mail sales that formed the basic idea for Doubleday s more successful Science Fiction Book Club Most of the Gnome Press books were hardcover but some few titles saw later paperback editions as Greenberg experimented using his remaining stock of unbound sheets with several titles bound in inexpensive paper covers as a test to see if such an effort could help to keep the company afloat But with his Pick A Book hardcover titles already going for as little as 1 00 per book the experiment did not save enough money to be profitable and was dropped and these few paperbound titles are among the scarcest of Gnome Press collectibles today Failure editGnome Press did not have much capital or access to distribution facilities and relied on selling its books directly to fans by mail According to Filmfax Greenberg couldn t keep top science fiction and fantasy writers who wanted more money and went over to bigger publishers like Doubleday The larger publishers had more money marketing and distribution outlets the ability to sell wholesale to bookstores Financial mismanagement also cut into Gnome s ability to retain authors The company was notorious for not paying its writers royalties due which is ultimately what led to its failure Author Isaac Asimov claimed he was never paid for the publication of the Foundation books and called Greenberg an outright crook 6 In his biography I Asimov A Memoir Asimov provides a short chapter on his own frustrating interactions with Gnome Press as well as some good detail on its publisher Martin Greenberg Asimov and other authors were able eventually to get back the rights to their books so they could go to other more lucrative deals Martin Greenberg continued to cut costs at Gnome Press through smaller editions cheaper paper and various promotions to sell back inventory He was ultimately forced to close due to financial troubles and Gnome folded in 1962 due to a long drawn out lawsuit leaving Arkham House the only American viable small press in the science fiction and fantasy field When Gnome Press went out of business it was 100 000 in debt Greenberg died in the fall of 2013 and Kyle in the fall of 2016 Legacy editGnome Press publications are collected and many of the books in well used condition can be inexpensively obtained as of 2015 Amazon com was offering several in the 10 20 range Other items are expensive The calendars are particularly scarce Among the books I Robot either in hardcover form or the Armed Forces paperback edition set from its plates is in particular demand 7 Works published edit1940s edit The Carnelian Cube by L Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt 1948 The Porcelain Magician by Frank Owen 1948 Pattern for Conquest by George O Smith 1949 Sixth Column by Robert A Heinlein 1949 The Thirty First of February by Nelson Bond 1949 1950s edit Men Against the Stars edited by Martin Greenberg 1950 The Castle of Iron by L Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt 1950 Minions of the Moon by William Gray Beyer 1950 Conan the Conqueror by Robert E Howard 1950 I Robot by Isaac Asimov 1950 Cosmic Engineers by Clifford D Simak 1950 Seetee Ship by Will Stewart 1951 Tomorrow and Tomorrow amp The Fairy Chessmen by Lewis Padgett 1951 Renaissance by Raymond F Jones 1951 Typewriter in the Sky amp Fear by L Ron Hubbard 1951 Travelers of Space edited by Martin Greenberg 1951 Journey to Infinity edited by Martin Greenberg 1951 Foundation by Isaac Asimov 1951 The Mixed Men by A E van Vogt 1952 City by Clifford D Simak 1952 Robots Have No Tails by Lewis Padgett 1952 Judgment Night by C L Moore 1952 The Sword of Conan by Robert E Howard 1952 Five Science Fiction Novels edited by Martin Greenberg 1952 Sands of Mars by Arthur C Clarke 1952 The Starmen by Leigh Brackett 1952 Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov 1952 Children of the Atom by Wilmar H Shiras 1953 Space Lawyer by Nat Schachner 1953 Mutant by Lewis Padgett 1953 Shambleau and Others by C L Moore 1953 The Complete Book of Outer Space edited by Jeffrey Logan 1953 The Coming of Conan by Robert E Howard 1953 King Conan by Robert E Howard 1953 The Robot and the Man edited by Martin Greenberg 1953 Iceworld by Hal Clement 1953 Against the Fall of Night by Arthur C Clarke 1953 Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov 1953 Conan the Barbarian by Robert E Howard 1954 Undersea Quest by Frederik Pohl and Jack Williamson 1954 Mel Oliver and Space Rover on Mars by William Morrison 1954 Northwest of Earth by C L Moore 1954 The Forgotten Planet by Murray Leinster 1954 Lost Continents by L Sprague de Camp 1954 Prelude to Space by Arthur C Clarke 1954 Star Bridge by Jack Williamson and James E Gunn 1955 Address Centauri by F L Wallace 1955 Sargasso of Space by Andrew North 1955 Tales of Conan by Robert E Howard 1955 This Fortress World by James E Gunn 1955 All About the Future edited by Martin Greenberg 1955 Reprieve from Paradise by H Chandler Elliott 1955 Science Fiction Terror Tales edited by Groff Conklin 1955 Highways in Hiding by George O Smith 1956 Undersea Fleet by Frederik Pohl and Jack Williamson 1956 Plague Ship by Andrew North 1956 SF The Year s Greatest Science Fiction and Fantasy edited by Judith Merril 1956 Interplanetary Hunter by Arthur K Barnes 1956 The Shrouded Planet by Robert Randall pseudonym of Robert Silverberg and Randall Garrett 1957 The Return of Conan by Bjorn Nyberg and L Sprague de Camp 1957 SF 57 The Year s Greatest Science Fiction and Fantasy edited by Judith Merril 1957 Colonial Survey by Murray Leinster 1957 Two Sought Adventure by Fritz Leiber 1957 Coming Attractions edited by Martin Greenberg 1957 They d Rather Be Right by Mark Clifton and Frank Riley 1957 The Seedling Stars by James Blish 1957 Earthman s Burden by Poul Anderson and Gordon R Dickson 1957 Path of Unreason by George O Smith 1958 Starman s Quest by Robert Silverberg 1958 Undersea City by Frederik Pohl and Jack Williamson 1958 Tros of Samothrace by Talbot Mundy 1958 SF 58 The Year s Greatest Science Fiction and Fantasy edited by Judith Merril 1958 Methuselah s Children by Robert A Heinlein 1958 The Survivors by Tom Godwin 1958 The Bird of Time by Wallace West 1959 The Dawning Light by Robert Randall pseudonym of Robert Silverberg and Randall Garrett 1959 Purple Pirate by Talbot Mundy 1959 SF 59 The Year s Greatest Science Fiction and Fantasy edited by Judith Merril 1958 The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag by Robert A Heinlein 1959 The Menace from Earth by Robert A Heinlein 1959 1960s edit The Vortex Blaster by Edward E Smith 1960 Agent of Vega by James H Schmitz 1960 Drunkard s Walk by Frederik Pohl 1960 Invaders from the Infinite by John W Campbell Jr 1961 Gray Lensman by Edward E Smith Ph D 1951 Note Gnome Press reprinted this book directly from the Fantasy Press edition including the First Edition statement even though it is a reprint edition making it one of the most notoriously tricky titles for collectors of science fiction first editions The Philosophical Corps by Everett B Cole 1962 Footnotes edit Company description Archived from the original on 2006 06 28 Retrieved 2006 04 03 Gnome Press Newsletter Image Accessed 2011 12 30 see archives on Greenberg Publisher at the Columbia University Libraries Archival Collections for correspondence between publisher and authors Theodore Sturgeon and A E Van Vogt on their novels as well as a history of the company Charlie Jane Anders 2014 03 27 The Failed Publisher That Gave Us I Robot And Arthur C Clarke A conversation with Andre Norton Archived from the original on 2011 10 12 Retrieved 2013 02 03 Chalker Jack L Mark Owings 1998 The Science Fantasy Publishers A Bibliographic History 1923 1998 Westminster Maryland and Baltimore Mirage Press Ltd pp 294 311 Welcome December 23 2008 Retrieved July 23 2019 References editChalker Jack L Mark Owings 1998 The Science Fantasy Publishers A Bibliographic History 1923 1998 Westminster Maryland and Baltimore Mirage Press Ltd pp 294 311 Asimov Isaac 1994 I Asimov A Memoir New York Doubleday pp 157 159 ISBN 978 0 385 41701 3 The Great Gnome Press Science Fiction OdysseyExternal links editGnome Press The Complete History and Bibliography Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gnome Press amp oldid 1160929052, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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