The Reprint Society, trading as World Books, was a book club in the United Kingdom founded by Alan Bott in 1939 who also started the Book Society, the Avalon Press and Pan Books. The club dominated the middle brow sector of the book club business in the U.K. until it was sold in 1966.
Possibly the first advert for the club, in The Times, offered Seven Pillars of Wisdom in two volumes for three shillings and six pence (3/6s) per volume, bound in buckram and with a gilt stamped leather title label on the spine. Supplies were described as limited by war-time conditions.[1] A cheaper, cloth-bound, version was available at only 2/6s.
HeydayEdit
The heyday of the club was probably in the 1950s when membership had grown to 200,000 from an initial 2,000 and reducing costs enabled the reintroduction of the signature buckram bindings for which the club was known. The club boasted in its advertising that it was the largest in the British Commonwealth.[2]
SaleEdit
In 1966, firm was acquired by W.H. Smith and Doubleday and renamed Book Club Associates which traded using a number of different club names.[3]The Reprint Society was described at the time by its Managing Director, Tony Barrett, as being a company serving the "broad brow" reader rather than the "high brow" reached by The Readers Union or the middle or lower brow reached by other clubs.[4]
ReferencesEdit
^ abcAdvertising in The Times, 12 December 1939, p. 4.
^Advertising in The Times, No. 52741, 1 October 1953, p. 8.
^The Competition Commission: Book Club Associates and Leisure Circle A report on the merger situation 1988. 2010-12-06 at the Wayback Machine Chpt. 2, p. 8.
^"Book clubs faced with a chapter of uncertainties" by Tony Barrett in The Times, 25 November 1966, No. 56798, p. 13.
October 20, 2023
reprint, society, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, september. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources The Reprint Society news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Reprint Society trading as World Books was a book club in the United Kingdom founded by Alan Bott in 1939 who also started the Book Society the Avalon Press and Pan Books The club dominated the middle brow sector of the book club business in the U K until it was sold in 1966 Contents 1 Editorial Board 2 First books 3 Heyday 4 Sale 5 ReferencesEditorial Board EditThe initial editorial board included 1 Alan Bott W A R Collins of Collins A Dwye Evans of Heinemann Rupert Hart Davis of Jonathan Cape Harold Macmillan of Macmillan Harold Raymond of Chatto amp Windus First books EditThe first six books offered were 1 Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T E Lawrence The Joyful Delaneys by Hugh Walpole The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Brazilian Adventure by Peter Fleming Rabble in Arms by Kenneth RobertsPossibly the first advert for the club in The Times offered Seven Pillars of Wisdom in two volumes for three shillings and six pence 3 6s per volume bound in buckram and with a gilt stamped leather title label on the spine Supplies were described as limited by war time conditions 1 A cheaper cloth bound version was available at only 2 6s Heyday EditThe heyday of the club was probably in the 1950s when membership had grown to 200 000 from an initial 2 000 and reducing costs enabled the reintroduction of the signature buckram bindings for which the club was known The club boasted in its advertising that it was the largest in the British Commonwealth 2 Sale EditIn 1966 firm was acquired by W H Smith and Doubleday and renamed Book Club Associates which traded using a number of different club names 3 The Reprint Society was described at the time by its Managing Director Tony Barrett as being a company serving the broad brow reader rather than the high brow reached by The Readers Union or the middle or lower brow reached by other clubs 4 References Edit a b c Advertising in The Times 12 December 1939 p 4 Advertising in The Times No 52741 1 October 1953 p 8 The Competition Commission Book Club Associates and Leisure Circle A report on the merger situation 1988 Archived 2010 12 06 at the Wayback Machine Chpt 2 p 8 Book clubs faced with a chapter of uncertainties by Tony Barrett in The Times 25 November 1966 No 56798 p 13 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Reprint Society amp oldid 1130390312, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
