Sir Allen LaneCH (born Allen Lane Williams; 21 September 1902 – 7 July 1970) was a British publisher who together with his brothers Richard and John Lane founded Penguin Books in 1935, bringing high-quality paperback fiction and non-fiction to the mass market.[1][2]
Allen Lane Williams was born in Bristol, to Camilla (née Lane) and Samuel Williams, and studied at Bristol Grammar School. In 1919 he joined the publishing company Bodley Head as an apprentice to his uncle and founder of the company John Lane. In the process, he and the rest of his family changed their surname to Lane to retain the childless John Lane's company as a family firm.
Lane married Letitia Lucy Orr, daughter of Sir Charles Orr, on 28 June 1941 and had three daughters: Clare, Christine, and Anna. He was knighted in 1952.
Career as a publisheredit
The plaque marking the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of Penguin Books by Allen Lane at 8 Vigo Street
He rose quickly at Bodley Head, becoming managing editor in 1925 following the death of his uncle. After conflict with the board of directors who were wary at first—for fear of being prosecuted—of publishing James Joyce's controversial book Ulysses, Lane, together with his brothers Richard and John, founded Penguin Books in 1935 as part of the Bodley Head.
Penguin Books became a separate company the following year.[3] The legend goes that on a train journey back from visiting Agatha Christie in 1934, Lane found himself on an Exeter station platform with nothing available worth reading. He conceived of paperback editions of literature of proven quality which would be cheap enough to be sold from a vending machine; the first was set up outside Henderson's in Charing Cross Road and dubbed the "Penguincubator".[citation needed] Lane was also well aware of the Hamburg publisher Albatross Books and adopted many of its innovations.
Most booksellers and authors were against the idea of paperbacks. They believed that paperbacks would result in individuals spending less money on books. Lane was very stubborn when it came to his company; he operated mainly on intuition and imagination. "He thrived in an atmosphere of crisis and came most fully alive under the challenge of great dilemmas."[4] He was a creative genius that once he had an idea he would not stop until it came to fruition. Once he decided on creating paperbacks he set about in deciding what the books should look like and finding a name. He had decided that the books would be reprints so he also needed to approach other publishers to see if they and their authors would be willing to sublease the rights of the books. He was quoted as saying, "I have never been able to understand why cheap books should not also be well designed, for good design is no more expensive than bad."[5][full citation needed]
Edward Young designed the horizontal bands and used Gill Sans Bold for the title's letting. He was also sent to the Zoo in Regents Park to sketch penguins for the cover. Allen Lane wanted a cover design that was consistent and easily recognizable. In 1937 the font was changed to Times New Roman. His Pelican Books were non-fiction books. Penguins were meant to entertain while Pelicans were meant to enlighten. In the 1950s his company had grown so much that it had major outposts in both Australia and the United States. Lane's management style put him and the individuals in charge in his United States office at odds. These individuals eventually left Penguin books and started their own publishing companies: Bantam Books and New American Library.[4]
In 1965, during an attempt by chief editor Tony Godwin and the board of directors to remove him, Lane stole and burnt the entire print run of the French cartoonist Siné's book Massacre, which was reportedly deeply offensive.[6]
Lane dismissed Godwin, and retained control of Penguin, but was forced to retire shortly afterwards after being diagnosed with bowel cancer. He died in 1970 at Northwood, Middlesex.[7]
Legacyedit
In 2010, Penguin Random House Canada launched an imprint named for Allen Lane to publish prestige non-fiction by established authors.[8]
^"SIR ALLEN LANE, 67, OF PENGUIN BOOKS". The New York Times. 8 July 1970. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
^Florence Waters (26 August 2010). "Penguin's pioneering publisher – who never read books". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
^"about Penguin – company history 5 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Penguin
^ abNeavill, Gordon B. (April 1981). "Review: [Untitled]". Library Quarterly. 51 (2): 223–225. doi:10.1086/601094. JSTOR 4307350. Reviews Allen Lane: King Penguin.
^Jeremy, Lewis (2008). "Hatching a Penguin: The Start of the Paperback Populism". The Journal of the Book Community. 1: 20 – via JSTOR.
^About Penguin: Company History. 1 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Penguin Books Ltd. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
^"Allen Lane". from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
Further readingedit
Cavendish, Richard (29 June 2010). . History Today. 60 (7). Archived from the original on 29 October 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
Hare, Steve (1995). Penguin Portrait: Allen Lane and the Penguin Editors, 1935–1970. London: Penguin Books. ISBN9780140238525. OCLC 33085920.
Kells, Stuart (2015). Penguin and the Lane Brothers: The Untold Story of a Publishing Revolution. Collingwood, Vic., Australia: Black Inc. ISBN9781863957571. OCLC 908806724.
Morpurgo, Jack E. (1979). Allen Lane: King Penguin: A Biography. London: Hutchinson. ISBN9780091396909. OCLC 185461758.
External linksedit
University of Bristol Library Special Collections. . Archived from the original on 17 May 2010.
Horatio Morpurgo, Lane's grandson (September 2008). "Lady Chatterley's Defendant: Allen Lane and the Paperback Revolution (a portrait of Allen Lane)".
Toby Clements (19 February 2009). "History of the Penguin Archive". The Daily Telegraph. London, UK. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
BBC Radio 4 programme about Allen Lane by author Michael Morpurgo, his son-in-law
January 01, 1970
allen, lane, railway, station, formerly, known, richard, station, those, similar, name, alan, lane, disambiguation, born, williams, september, 1902, july, 1970, british, publisher, together, with, brothers, richard, john, lane, founded, penguin, books, 1935, b. For the U S railway station formerly known as Allen Lane see Richard Allen Lane station For those of a similar name see Alan Lane disambiguation Sir Allen Lane CH born Allen Lane Williams 21 September 1902 7 July 1970 was a British publisher who together with his brothers Richard and John Lane founded Penguin Books in 1935 bringing high quality paperback fiction and non fiction to the mass market 1 2 Sir Allen LaneCHLane at London Zoo 1965BornAllen Lane Williams 1902 09 21 21 September 1902Bristol England United KingdomDied7 July 1970 1970 07 07 aged 67 Northwood England United KingdomBurial placeSt Nectan s Church HartlandNationalityBritishOccupationPublisherKnown forFounder of Penguin BooksSpouseLady Letitia Lucy Orr m 1941 wbr Children3 including Clare MorpurgoRelativesJohn Lane uncle AwardsKnighthood 1952 Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour 1969 Albert Medal 1969 In 1967 he started a hardback imprint under his own name Allen Lane Contents 1 Early life and family 2 Career as a publisher 3 Legacy 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksEarly life and family editAllen Lane Williams was born in Bristol to Camilla nee Lane and Samuel Williams and studied at Bristol Grammar School In 1919 he joined the publishing company Bodley Head as an apprentice to his uncle and founder of the company John Lane In the process he and the rest of his family changed their surname to Lane to retain the childless John Lane s company as a family firm Lane married Letitia Lucy Orr daughter of Sir Charles Orr on 28 June 1941 and had three daughters Clare Christine and Anna He was knighted in 1952 Career as a publisher edit nbsp The plaque marking the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of Penguin Books by Allen Lane at 8 Vigo Street He rose quickly at Bodley Head becoming managing editor in 1925 following the death of his uncle After conflict with the board of directors who were wary at first for fear of being prosecuted of publishing James Joyce s controversial book Ulysses Lane together with his brothers Richard and John founded Penguin Books in 1935 as part of the Bodley Head Penguin Books became a separate company the following year 3 The legend goes that on a train journey back from visiting Agatha Christie in 1934 Lane found himself on an Exeter station platform with nothing available worth reading He conceived of paperback editions of literature of proven quality which would be cheap enough to be sold from a vending machine the first was set up outside Henderson s in Charing Cross Road and dubbed the Penguincubator citation needed Lane was also well aware of the Hamburg publisher Albatross Books and adopted many of its innovations Most booksellers and authors were against the idea of paperbacks They believed that paperbacks would result in individuals spending less money on books Lane was very stubborn when it came to his company he operated mainly on intuition and imagination He thrived in an atmosphere of crisis and came most fully alive under the challenge of great dilemmas 4 He was a creative genius that once he had an idea he would not stop until it came to fruition Once he decided on creating paperbacks he set about in deciding what the books should look like and finding a name He had decided that the books would be reprints so he also needed to approach other publishers to see if they and their authors would be willing to sublease the rights of the books He was quoted as saying I have never been able to understand why cheap books should not also be well designed for good design is no more expensive than bad 5 full citation needed Edward Young designed the horizontal bands and used Gill Sans Bold for the title s letting He was also sent to the Zoo in Regents Park to sketch penguins for the cover Allen Lane wanted a cover design that was consistent and easily recognizable In 1937 the font was changed to Times New Roman His Pelican Books were non fiction books Penguins were meant to entertain while Pelicans were meant to enlighten In the 1950s his company had grown so much that it had major outposts in both Australia and the United States Lane s management style put him and the individuals in charge in his United States office at odds These individuals eventually left Penguin books and started their own publishing companies Bantam Books and New American Library 4 The paperback venture was extremely successful and he expanded into other areas such as Pelican Books in 1937 Puffin Books in 1940 and the Penguin Classics series in 1945 Lane was responsible for the decision to publish an unexpurgated edition of D H Lawrence s Lady Chatterley s Lover as a means of testing the Obscene Publications Act 1959 In 1965 during an attempt by chief editor Tony Godwin and the board of directors to remove him Lane stole and burnt the entire print run of the French cartoonist Sine s book Massacre which was reportedly deeply offensive 6 Lane dismissed Godwin and retained control of Penguin but was forced to retire shortly afterwards after being diagnosed with bowel cancer He died in 1970 at Northwood Middlesex 7 Legacy editIn 2010 Penguin Random House Canada launched an imprint named for Allen Lane to publish prestige non fiction by established authors 8 See also edit nbsp United Kingdom portal nbsp Biography portal nbsp Books portalReferences edit SIR ALLEN LANE 67 OF PENGUIN BOOKS The New York Times 8 July 1970 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on 28 July 2018 Retrieved 4 November 2017 Florence Waters 26 August 2010 Penguin s pioneering publisher who never read books The Daily Telegraph Archived from the original on 11 January 2022 Retrieved 17 February 2014 about Penguin company history Archived 5 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine Penguin a b Neavill Gordon B April 1981 Review Untitled Library Quarterly 51 2 223 225 doi 10 1086 601094 JSTOR 4307350 Reviews Allen Lane King Penguin Jeremy Lewis 2008 Hatching a Penguin The Start of the Paperback Populism The Journal of the Book Community 1 20 via JSTOR Narrated by Lane biographer Jeremy Lewis on BBC Radio in 2010 http www bbc co uk radio player b00tjrgz About Penguin Company History Archived 1 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine Penguin Books Ltd Retrieved 2010 08 18 Allen Lane Archived from the original on 17 August 2022 Retrieved 17 August 2022 Further reading editCavendish Richard 29 June 2010 The First Penguin Paperbacks History Today 60 7 Archived from the original on 29 October 2010 Retrieved 21 July 2021 Hare Steve 1995 Penguin Portrait Allen Lane and the Penguin Editors 1935 1970 London Penguin Books ISBN 9780140238525 OCLC 33085920 Kells Stuart 2015 Penguin and the Lane Brothers The Untold Story of a Publishing Revolution Collingwood Vic Australia Black Inc ISBN 9781863957571 OCLC 908806724 Morpurgo Jack E 1979 Allen Lane King Penguin A Biography London Hutchinson ISBN 9780091396909 OCLC 185461758 External links editUniversity of Bristol Library Special Collections Penguin Archive Archived from the original on 17 May 2010 Horatio Morpurgo Lane s grandson September 2008 Lady Chatterley s Defendant Allen Lane and the Paperback Revolution a portrait of Allen Lane Toby Clements 19 February 2009 History of the Penguin Archive The Daily Telegraph London UK Retrieved 23 April 2010 BBC Radio 4 programme about Allen Lane by author Michael Morpurgo his son in law Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Allen Lane amp oldid 1223259192, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
