Paperback books

Paperback books

Paperback books became popular in Europe and the United States during the 1800's. A German publishing company named Tauchnitz began to produce paperback editions of the classics in 1841. This series eventually included more than 5,000 titles. In the United States, the first series of paperback editions appeared in 1831. They became extremely successful after 1870. Many publishing houses began printing paperbacks and competing with each other for sales. By 1885, a third of the books published were a type of popular paperback called dime novels because they originally cost 10 cents. The mass production of books led to a decline in the quality. Publishers printed many books on cheap paper that quickly turned brown and brittle with age. Bindings were often poorly glued, and they broke.

Excerpt from the "Book" article, The World Book Encyclopedia © 1999