Mass Market Paperbacks

Spines of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels - Pan paperback editions

The invention of themass market paperback was a revolution in the publishing industry. Paperbacks allowed publishers to mass produce books at a low cost, however, they were also sold at a low cost, making the profit margin low. Publishers compensated for this issue with quantity. The mass market paperback was available everywhere from corner stores to airports. Many books published in this time period were only in print for a year or two because of the mass quantities of books available.

Mass market paperbacks are printed using low quality paper and a thin cover. They are the size of an octavo (4x7 inches) making them ideal to carry around regularly. They are bound using the perfect binding method during which a large machine will press the pages of the book together and glue them with an adhesive which will not be visible once the cover is attached. Because this low-cost binding method is used, these books have a square spine which leaves them prone to creasing or cracking which compromises the physical integrity of the book.

The Production of Mass Market Paperbacks

Though they were a wildly popular style of book, especially in the 1940's through the 1980's, there is no easily accessible video showing the production of said books. However, we do know that they were created using a method called perfect binding, so below will be several videos showing the process of perfect binding.

Perfect Binding Press

This video shows a perfect binding press that is suitable for books produced in lower quantities.

This video shows a different style of perfect binding press that is also used for books printed in shorter runs.

Industrial Binding

This video depicts several types of binding including perfect binding on an industrial scale suitable for large quantities of books.

George Kelley Paperback & Pulp Fiction Collection

This image is of the cover of the pulp fiction work, titled 'Atlantida', by Pierre Benoit. It was published in 1920. From the UB Libraries - George Kelley Pulp Fiction Collection

The George Kelley Paperback & Pulp Fiction Collection is based in the University at Buffalo Libraries. Many of the materials in this collection were donated by George Kelly in 1994 and it consists of over 25,000 pulp fiction books and magazines. Dr. Thomas Shaw and Margaret Shaw have also been large contributors since the library was started. The collection includes adventure, mystery, erotic, fantastic, horror, legal, science fiction, war, and western stories.

The Physical Collection

"The Collection is housed in the Special Collections Research Room in 420 Capen Hall. The Collection is open for research but must be used in house."[1] All books in the collection are available in person.

The Digital Collection

The digital collection does not contain all the books in the physical collection. It provides a description of each book. Most of the books are only available to view online for people currently available at the university but the details provided on each book are publicly available.

Information Provided on Each Book

• Front and rear cover descriptions
• Author/Creator
• Publisher
• Date of Publication
• Contributor
• Type
• Identifier
• Alternative title (if applicable)
• Date the digital archive was created
• Last date the digital archive was edited
• Audience
• Collection
• Citation

Gerard Arthus - Beacon Books Pulp Collection

The Gerard Arthus - Beacon Books Pulp Collection is a digital archive of mass market paperback pulp novels published by Beacon Books. This archive allows full public access to the text. The collection currently contains just over 100 books all in the romance genre.

Search Features

Search by:

• Metadata
• Text Contents

Filter by:

• Publication date
• Creator
• Topic
• Collection
• Language

Book Information Provided

• Publication date
• Copyright status
• Publisher
• Collection
• Contributor
• Language

Gerard Arthus - Galaxy Science Fiction Novels Collection

The Gerard Arthus - Galaxy Science Fiction Novels Collection is an archive of Galaxy Novels which were mostly reprints of American science fiction novels from 1950 to 1961. Every book in the collection is available in its entirety for free.

Search Features

Search by:

• Metadata
• Text Contents

Filter by:

• Publication date
• Creator
• Topic
• Collection
• Language

Book Information Provided

• Publication date
• Copyright status
• Publisher
• Collection
• Contributor
• Language