This week Abe Books' rare book room pulls together a collection of books produced by visionary publisher Victor Gollancz. Here's what they have to say about him:Gollancz (1893-1967) studied the classics at Oxford University and during World War I began his life in publishing when he joined Ernest Benn’s firm … recruiting writers [such as] Edith Nesbit and H. G. Wells. In 1927, he set up his own publishing house and his career took off. [Among others,] he signed George Orwell, Ford Madox FordDaphne Du Maurier.
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Gollancz was ahead of this time. He placed full-page adverts for his books in newspapers (very rare for this period) and his designers established a recognizable style featuring powerful typography and yellow dust jackets. Gollancz was creating ‘branding’ 50 years before marketers embraced the buzzword.
In 1936, Gollancz was a co-founder of the Left Book Club with the intention of halting the growth of Fascism in Europe and promoting socialism. Every month, Gollancz recommended a left-leaning book and members received the book for a discounted price of two shillings and six pence. The first selection was France Today and the People's Front by Maurice Thorez, a French Communist. The Left Book Club had 45,000 members within 12 months and hundreds of local groups met and debated the books up and down Britain.
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The publisher was knighted in 1965.
I cut out a lot, but the point, to make a long story short, is that Victor Gollancz was quite an interesting dude. Visit abebooks.com to learn more about him and browse.