PAPERBACK BOOKS

A fresh angle was added to book manufacturing in the 19 th century with the Paperback Books . Paperback Books are the kind of books bound by the papers folded and glued to a cover made of thick paper to form a complete book structure. Cloth or leather is not used for this type of bindings and most of the time the binding is done only with glue without using any stitch or staple. The Paperback Books are also known as the Paper-Bound Books .

The history of the Paperback Books goes far behind before the 19 th century. The books at that time were not so popular among the publishers or the customers as the cost of making Paperback Books were almost equal the cost of hardcover books. From the early 1800 till 1931 the Paperback Books had undergone three revolutions.

The concept of Paperback Books was initiated by ‘Albatross Books' a German publisher in 1931 and later on was followed by several other publishers. ‘Penguin Books', a British publishing house started publishing Paperback Books from 1935. In the United States the first Paperback Book published in 1939 were in the form of ‘pocket books' .

The Paperback Books can be classified into three types, the ‘ Mass Market Paperback Books ', ‘ Pocket Books' and the ‘ Trade Paperbacks '. Mass Marketing Paperbacks are 110mm x 178mm in size and most of the times do not contain any illustration. These books are usually sold in airports and supermarkets. The Pocket Paper Books are approximately 130mm to 198mm in size and are usually printed on newsprint or other cheap papers. The Trade Paperback Books are an exact replica of the hardcover edition without the cloth or leather covers.

Some of the leading Paperback Book publishers are:

•  Albatross (1931)

•  Penguin Books (1935)

•  Fawcett (1950)

•  Royce Publication (1944)

•  Barkley (1955)

•  Ace Books (1952)

Paperback Books are less expensive than the hardcover editions . They are usually released just after the hardcover editions are released in the market to increase the sale as it is much more cost effective than the original hardcover edition.