{{short description|American publishing company (1902-1980)}} {{Infobox publisher | name = World Publishing Company | image = | parent = Times Mirror Company (1962–1974)<br />Collins Publishers (1974–1980) | predecessor = Commercial Bookbinding Co. | status = defunct {{end date and age|1980}}, some assets acquired by Putnam Publishing Group and Simon & Schuster | founded = {{start date and age|1902}} | founder = Alfred H. Cahen | successor = | country = United States | headquarters = Cleveland<br />New York City | distribution = | keypeople = Ben Zevin, William Targ | publications = Books | topics = Reference, Religion, Politics, Sports, Philosophy | genre = Mystery, Popular fiction | imprints = Tower Books | revenue = | numemployees = | nasdaq = | url = }} The '''World Publishing Company''' was an American publishing company. The company published genre fiction, trade paperbacks, children's literature, nonfiction books, textbooks, Bibles, and dictionaries,<ref name=ech>[http://ech.case.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=WPC "WORLD PUBLISHING CO."], ''The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History''. Accessed Mar. 3, 2017.</ref> primarily from 1940 to 1980. Authors published by World Publishing Company include Ruth Nanda Anshen, Michael Crichton, Simone de Beauvoir, Robert Ludlum, Sam Moskowitz, Ayn Rand, Rex Stout, Gay Talese, and Lin Yutang. Originally headquartered in Cleveland, the company later added an office in New York City. The company's Cleveland headquarters were located in the Caxton Building.<ref name=encyc>[http://ech.case.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=CB "Caxton Building"], ''Encyclopedia of Cleveland History''. Accessed Mar. 2, 2017.</ref>
World Publishing was notable for publishing the first edition of ''Webster's New World Dictionary'' in 1951,<ref>McIntyre, By Michael K.[http://www.cleveland.com/tipoff/index.ssf/2014/10/with_publication_websters_coll.html "With publication of Webster's 'College 5' dictionary, the book that defined Cleveland editors' work is closed: Michael K. McIntyre's Tipoff"], ''Cleveland Plain Dealer'' (October 17, 2014).</ref> which contained 142,000 entries, said to be the largest American desk dictionary available at the time. The company also had a vibrant children's book division, and published the first edition of Eric Carle's ''The Very Hungry Caterpillar'' in 1969.<ref>Silvey, Anita. ''100 Best Books for Children'' (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2004) {{ISBN|978-0-618-27889-3}}.</ref>
World Publishing Company is not related to the original owners of the ''Omaha World-Herald'' or ''Tulsa World'' (also called "World Publishing Co.").
== History == Polish immigrant Alfred H. Cahen founded the '''Commercial Bookbinding Co.''' in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1902, expanding and adding a printing plant by 1912. In 1928 Cahen bought out his largest competitor, New York's '''World Syndicate Publishing Co.''', officially taking on the name '''World Publishing Co.''' in 1935. (At that point, the company added an office in New York City.)
At the time the largest publisher of the King James Bible,<ref name=Zevin /> in 1940 Cahen's son-in-law, Ben Zevin, expanded the company's output by publishing inexpensive editions of classic literature, which were sold in variety stores and drugstores as well as bookstores.<ref name=ech /> Under Zevin's leadership, in 1940 World Publishing introduced the hugely popular '''Tower Books''' imprint: a 49-cent line of hardcovers<ref name=ech /> which featured such authors as mystery writer Rex Stout. (This "Tower Books" was not related to the Tower Publications imprint that operated from 1958 to 1981.){{citation needed|date=December 2017}} From 1942 to 1964 William Targ worked as an editor for World Publishing, eventually becoming editor-in-chief.<ref name="nyt-obit">{{cite news |title=William Targ, 'Godfather' Editor, Dies at 92 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE6D8133EF936A15754C0A96F958260 |work=New York Times |date=1999-07-25 |access-date=2008-08-18}}</ref> As time passed, World Publishing expanded its repertoire to all types of fiction, nonfiction, sports, the classics, and philosophy.
The Times Mirror Company acquired World Publishing in 1962.<ref name=Zevin>UPI. [https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/29/obituaries/ben-zevin-dies-at-88-leader-of-world-publishing-company.html "Ben Zevin Dies at 88; Leader Of World Publishing Company,"] ''New York Times'' (December 29, 1984).</ref> By this time, World Publishing was producing 12 million books a year,<ref name=ech /> one of only three American publishers to produce that much volume. In 1974, the Times Mirror Co. sold World Publishing to the U.K.-based Collins Publishers, with the trade publishing remaining with Times Mirror's New American Library subsidiary.
In 1980 Collins broke up World Publishing, selling its children's line to the Putnam Publishing Group, the dictionary line to Simon and Schuster, and otherwise ridding itself of World's assets.<ref name=ech />
== Titles published (selected) == * Anshen, Ruth Nanda and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. ''Letters to Two Friends, 1926-1952'' (Perspectives in Humanism series) * Bassett, James. ''Harm's Way'' (1962) * Behn, Harry ''The Faraway Lurs'' (1963) * Carle, Eric. ''The Very Hungry Caterpillar'' (1969) * Chandler, Raymond. ''Time to Kill''. (1946) ASIN B0007ED26I * Crichton, Michael (writing as John Lange). ''The Venom Business'' (1969) * Cope, Myron. ''The Game That Was: The Early Days of Pro Football'' (1970) * de Beauvoir, Simone. ''The Mandarins'' (1954) — first English-language edition * Dreiser, Theodore. ''Trilogy of Desire'' (1972) * Hammett, Dashiell ** ''Blood Money'' (1943) — hardcover edition of ''Bestseller Mystery'' B40 (Tower imprint) ** ''Dashiell Hammett's Mystery Omnibus'' (1944) — includes ''The Maltese Falcon'' and ''The Glass Key'' ** ''The Adventures of Sam Spade and Other Stories'' (1945) — hardcover edition of ''Bestseller Mystery'' B50 * Havinghurst, Walter (1958). ''Vein of Iron: The Pickands-Mather Story'' * Hobsbawm, Eric ** ''The Age of Revolution: Europe 1789–1848'' (1962) ** ''Bandits'' (1969) * Höss, Rudolph. ''Commandant of Auschwitz: The Autobiography of Rudolf Höß''. Translated by Constantine FitzGibbon (1959) * Kazin, Alfred, ed. ''F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Man and His Work'' (1951) * Kramer, Jerry & Dick Schaap. ''Instant Replay: The Green Bay Diary of Jerry Kramer'' (1968) * Lowry, Malcolm. ''October Ferry to Gabriola'' (1970) * Ludlum, Robert ** ''The Scarlatti Inheritance'' (1971) ** ''The Osterman Weekend'' (1972) * Mailer, Norman. ''Miami and the Siege of Chicago'' (1968) * Moskowitz, Sam, ed. ** ''Modern Masterpieces of Science Fiction'' (1965) ** ''Seekers of Tomorrow: Masters of Modern Science Fiction'' (1965) ** ''Masterpieces of Science Fiction'' (1966) ** ''Explorers of the Infinite: Shapers of Science Fiction'' (1966) * Norton, Andre. ''Storm Over Warlock'' (1960) * Peyton, K. M. ''The Edge of the Cloud'' (1969) * Rabi, Isidor Isaac. ''Science: The Center of Culture'' (1970) * Rand, Ayn. ''The Romantic Manifesto'' (1969) * Sauvage, Leo. ''The Oswald Affair'' (1966, 1967) * Scott-Heron, Gil. ''The Vulture'' (1970) * Southern, Terry. ''Blue Movie'' (1970) * Talese, Gay ** ''The Kingdom and the Power'' (1969) ** ''Honor Thy Father'' (1971) * Thompson, Bard. ''Liturgies of the Western Church'' (1961) * Westlake, Donald E. (writing as Richard Stark) ''Lemons Never Lie'' (1971) *Twain, Mark, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1947). * Woodcock, George. ''Anarchism'' (1962) * Wright, Richard ** ''The Color Curtain'' (1956) ** ''Eight Men'' (1961)
==Book series== * Forum Books * Holly Books * Illustrated Gift Editions<ref>[https://seriesofseries.com/illustrated-gift-editions/ Illustrated Gift Editions], seriesofseries.com. Retrieved 8 September 2020.</ref> * Jewish Publication Society Series (jointly published with Jewish Publication Society of America)<ref>[https://www.publishinghistory.com/jewish-publication-society-series.html Jewish Publication Society Series (Meridian Books and Jewish Publication Society of America) - Book Series List], publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 8 September 2020.</ref> * Living Age Books<ref>[https://www.publishinghistory.com/living-age-books-world.html Living Age Books (World Publishing Company) - Book Series List], publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 8 September 2020.</ref> * Living Library<ref>[https://seriesofseries.com/living-library/ Living Library], seriesofseries.com. Retrieved 8 September 2020.</ref> * Meridian Books (also published by The Noonday Press)<ref>[https://www.publishinghistory.com/meridian-books-noonday.html Meridian Books (The Noonday Press; The World Publishing Company; Meridian Books) - Book Series List], publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 8 September 2020.</ref> * Meridian Giants<ref>[https://www.publishinghistory.com/meridian-giants-world.html Meridian Giants (World Publishing Co.) - Book Series List], publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 8 September 2020.</ref> * Perspectives in Humanism * Shepherd Books * Tower Books<ref>[https://seriesofseries.com/tower-books/ Tower Books], seriesofseries.com. Retrieved 8 September 2020.</ref> * World Books<ref>[https://seriesofseries.com/world-books/ World Books], seriesofseries.com. Retrieved 8 September 2020.</ref> * World Foreign Language Record Series<ref>[https://www.discogs.com/label/691957-World-Foreign-Language-Record-Series World Foreign Language Record Series], discogs.com. Retrieved 8 September 2020.</ref>
==Imprints== * International Fiction Library<ref>[https://seriesofseries.com/international-fiction-library/ International Fiction Library], seriesofseries.com. Retrieved 8 September 2020.</ref> * Meridian Books
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.library.kent.edu/world-publishing-company-records World Publishing Company Records] at Kent State University * [http://catalog.wrhs.org/collections/view?docId=ead/MS5357.xml;chunk.id=headerlink;brand=default;query=world%20publishing Finding aid for the World Publishing Company Records] at Western Reserve Historical Society
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{{DEFAULTSORT:World Publishing Company)}} Category:Defunct book publishing companies of the United States Category:Book publishing companies based in New York (state) Category:Book publishing companies based in Ohio Category:Publishing companies based in New York City Category:Publishing companies established in 1902 Category:1902 establishments in Ohio Category:1980 disestablishments in New York (state) Category:1962 mergers and acquisitions Category:1974 mergers and acquisitions