Street & Smith
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Street & Smith or Street & Smith Publications, Inc. was a New York City publisher specializing in inexpensive paperbacks and magazines referred to as pulp fiction and dime novels. They also published comic books. Among their many titles was the science fiction pulp magazine Astounding Stories, acquired from Clayton Magazines in 1933, and retained until 1961. Street & Smith was founded in 1855. The Street & Smith headquarters was at 79 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan.
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[edit] Founding
Francis Scott Street and Francis Shubael Smith began their publishing partnership when they took over a broken-down fiction magazine [1]. They then bought the existing New York Weekly Dispatch in 1858. Francis Scott Street died in 1883, and Smith died in 1887. The company became a publisher of inexpensive novels and weekly magazines starting in the 1880s and continuing into 1959.
In 1933 they bought titles from Clayton Magazines, including Astounding Stories.
In 1937 Street & Smith discontinued a number of their pulp titles, including Top-Notch and Complete Stories, the start of a long-term shrinking of their pulp line.
In 1938, Allen L. Grammer became president. He had spent more than 20 years as an efficiency expert for Curtis Publishing Co., and made a small fortune inventing a new printing process. He moved the offices into a skyscraper. [2]
[edit] Demise
Street & Smith stopped publishing all their pulps in 1949, selling off several of their titles to Popular Publications. Sales had declined with the advent of television. Condé Nast Publications bought their magazine lines in 1959, and is the current owner of all the company's copyrights as of 2007.
[edit] Authors
[edit] Illustrators
- Harvey Dunn
- J. C. Leyendecker
- Dean Cornwell
- Winfield Scott (artist)
- Frank Kramer (artist)
- Tom Lovell
- Anton Otto Fisher
- Amos Sewell
- N.C. Wyeth
[edit] See also
[edit] Presidents
- Francis Shubael Smith I (1819–1887) 1855 through 1877
- Ormond Gerald Smith; died 1933
- Allen L. Grammer; started 1938
[edit] Timeline
- 1855 Francis Scott Street and Francis Shubael Smith partner to buy a magazine
- 1858 Purchase of New York Weekly Dispatch
- 1877 Francis Shubael Smith retires
- 1877 Ormond Smith takes over
- 1883 Death of Francis Scott Street
- 1887 Death of Francis Shubael Smith on February 1
[edit] References
- The Writer; A Monthly Magazine for Literary Workers. January - December, 1919. (An excellent description of Street & Smith rejection policy).
- New York Times; April 18, 1933; Ormond G. Smith, Publisher, Dead; President of Street & Smith and Founder of Many Popular Magazines ...
- Time (magazine); Monday, August 20, 1945; Dreadfuls. S. & S. goes back to 1855 when Printer Francis Shubael Smith and Bookkeeper Francis S. Street took over a broken-down fiction magazine. They added a few magazines of their own, and reached a pulp peak during the long presidency of Smith's son, Ormond, who loved fine wines and rare first editions. Ormond Smith kept presses busy pouring out dime novels (they usually cost a nickel). ...
- New York Times; April 9, 1949; Street & Smith Giving Up 'Pulps'; Oldest Publishers of Thriller Magazines Also Scuttling Their Comic Books. Keep 'Slick' Periodicals. Television Is Held Responsible in Part for Sharp Drop in Newsstand Sales. The country's oldest "pulp" magazine publishing house, which for three generations has tickled the fancy of the adventure-minded with the derrings-do of such disparate characters as Buffalo Bill and The Shadow, has abandoned the field. ...
- New York Times; August 12, 1959; Advertising: Street Smith Deal? S. I. Newhouse, the newspaper publisher who recently moved into the magazine field, is reportedly negotiating to purchase Street Smith Publications, Inc.
- New York Times; August 26, 1959; Advertising: Street & Smith to Newhouse. In a transaction that is thought to involve more than $3,500,000, The Conde Nast Publications, Inc., has purchased Street Smith Publications, Inc. ...
- New York Times; May 20, 1962; Ormond V. Gould, Publisher's Aide; Retired Secretary of Street & Smith Is Dead at 70. Fort Lauderdale, Florida, May 19, 1962. Ormond V. Gould, who retired in 1939 as secretary of Street Smith Publications Inc., in New York, died today in Fort Lauderdale Beach Hospital after a long illness. He was 70 years old. ...
[edit] Archive
Syracuse University has:
- Dime Novels with Cover Image Files
- Yellow Kid Image Gallery
- Street & Smith Editorial Records
