Donald and Katharine Foley Collection of Penguin Books, Post 1965
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http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt6q2nb1wh No online items Finding Aid to the Donald and Katharine Foley Collection of Penguin Books, post 1965 Processed by The Bancroft Library staff The Bancroft Library. University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California, 94720-6000 Phone: (510) 642-6481 Fax: (510) 642-7589 Email: [email protected] URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu © 2001 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Finding Aid to the Donald and A27 1 Katharine Foley Collection of Penguin Books, post ... Finding Aid to the Donald and Katharine Foley Collection of Penguin Books, post 1965 Collection number: A27 The Bancroft Library University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California Contact Information: The Bancroft Library. University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California, 94720-6000 Phone: (510) 642-6481 Fax: (510) 642-7589 Email: [email protected] URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu Processed by: The Bancroft Library staff Date Completed: February 2001 Encoded by: Gabriela A. Montoya; revised by Jeanne Gahagan © 2001 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Collection Summary Collection Title: Donald and Katharine Foley Collection of Penguin Books, Date (inclusive): post 1965 Collection Number: A27 Collector: Foley, Donald L. and Foley, Katharine Extent: circa 500 vols. Repository: The Bancroft Library. Berkeley, California 94720-6000 Physical Location: Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog. Abstract: Collection includes about 570 Penguin books published after 1965. Languages Represented: English Access Collection is open for research. Publication Rights Finding Aid to the Donald and A27 2 Katharine Foley Collection of Penguin Books, post ... Materials in these collections may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000. See: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html . Preferred Citation [Identification of item], Donald and Katharine Foley Collection of Penguin Books, post 1965, A27, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. Related Material Title: Donald Foley Penguin Books Collector's File Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 99/45 z . Title: Donald and Katharine Foley Collection of Penguin Books, 1935-1965 Identifier/Call Number: A26 Indexing Terms The following terms have been used to index this collection in the library's online public access catalog. Penguin (Firm) Penguin books (Series) Books Catalogs Acquisition Information This collection is donated to the Bancroft Library by Donald and Katharine Foley in memory of their son, William Ross Foley. Scope and Content of the Collection Contents of this collection include about 570 Penguin books published after 1965, listed in the Container List below. This finding aid includes an essay about Penguin publishing since 1965. Three appended tables list series and imprints. See A26 finding aid for reference items and their indexing. by Donald L. Foley October 1999 Penguin Publishing: A Brief History We have dealt with the classic 1935-1965 period of Penguin book publishing in two previous essays (see A26 collection Finding Aid) Prior to 1970, Penguin Books was the quintessential British publisher. Mature, independent, with publicly traded shares (since 1962), the firm published mainly paperback books for a British market with strong world-wide exports as well. The firm was widely respected as a distinctive British institution. Its books were readily recognizable in their distinctive covers and set high standards for content and editorial quality. Allen Lane was very much in charge abetted by a remarkable editorial and production staff. When Allen Lane died in 1970, Penguin Books was absorbed into Longmans, in turn part of a very large Pearson PLC conglomerate. In subsequent years the Pearson organization engineered the acquisition of other book publishers, including some of major stature. Pearson/Penguin increased the number of titles published and broadened the range of imprint names by which these titles were known. Even by 1970, and most certainly thereafter, competitive pressures impinged on Penguin Books. It was losing its hegemony in the distinctive paperback market it helped to create.. Competing paperback publishers were luring away some best-selling authors. American-style popular paperbacks were picking up market share. So when Penguin was absorbed into the Pearson publishing organization the time was ripe for adaptive change. The next decades were to see Penguin move vigorously into the big American paperback market with several strategic acquisitions of large American publishers. Penguin also internationalized its publishing operations, relying increasingly on its American publishing units and creating new publishing units in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and, recently, India. Finding Aid to the Donald and A27 3 Katharine Foley Collection of Penguin Books, post ... During the period from 1970 to the present Penguin, in effect, at least partially Americanized its publishing. Many books produced as Penguins became indistinguishable from other American paperbacks. American publishing executives were brought in to fill key Penguin executive posts. With its growing United States market so dominant and with acute publishing problems having to be confronted in its American units, top Penguin executives (especially Peter Mayer) were sometimes forced to spend a disproportionate amount of time in the United States away from Penguin's traditional British headquarters. There were times, particularly during the 1980s, when Penguin faced difficulties. But the overall organization appears to have remained resilient and, as of the late 1990s, Penguin publishing seemed to be thriving. Penguin Publishing: A Selective Chronology When Sir Allen Lane died in July 1970 he left no successor. By pre-arrangement, the firm was sold within days to the Longman Group within the larger Pearson firm. Pearson PLC at that time also included The Financial Times , Pearson Television, and the Tussaud Group. In 1973, Penguin Canada and Penguin New Zealand were launched. Along with Penguin Australia, which had a longer history, these regional units published their own titles and distributed titles produced in Britain and the United States. The Longman Group and Penguin Books purchased Viking Books, the large American publishing firm, in 1975. The American branch of Penguin became known as Viking Penguin. Peter Mayer, an American, served as the Chief Executive of the British-based, worldwide Penguin Group within Pearson from 1978 until 1996. He led the revitalization of Penguin. Significantly, the Penguin name remained the dominant label for a major segment of Pearson's book publishing. Penguin acquired Frederick Warne, with its Beatrix Potter titles, in 1983. Two years later Penguin acquired the Thompson group, which included the Michael Joseph and Hamish Hamilton imprints. In 1985 Penguin celebrated its 50th anniversary. Penguin, in cooperation with the Penguin Collectors' Society, put a special exhibition on public display at London's Royal Festival Hall. Penguin also published Fifty Penguin Years, a handsomely illustrated account. And Penguin produced a boxed set of facsimiles of the first 10 books in the Penguin main series. In subsequent years, other Penguin series celebrated their respective 50th anniversaries. The New American Library Group was acquired in 1986. (New American Library back in 1948 had taken over American Penguin, with the main fiction series becoming Signet and the American Pelican series becoming Mentor.) In 1992 Signet was relaunched in Britain. In 1995 Penguin celebrated its 60th anniversary by publishing small attractive commemorative paperbacks termed Penguin 60s, Penguin 60s Classics, Penguin Children's 60s. and Penguin Travel 60s. Soon after, Michael Lynton, another American, replaced Peter Mayer as CEO of the Penguin Group in 1996, Penguin acquired the Putnam Berkley Group, a major book publishing conglomerate. This brought in some best-selling Putnam authors and titles. And it brought in a fresh new set of imprints. The American publishing arm was renamed Penguin Putnam. Pearson PLC, the parent company, in 1997 appointed Marjorie Scardino, an American, as its Manging Director and Dennis Stevenson as its new Chairman. The Current Organization of Pearson/Penguin Publishing As of 1999, Pearson PLC had four major functional groups: • Penguin Group. Included all of Pearson's non-educational book business. In 1998 the Group, in conjunction with PolyGram, started Penguin classical music labels. • Pearson Education. The world's largest educational