 | |
| Founded | March 1926 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Roger Baldwin Scott Nearing Trustees of the Garland Fund |
| Defunct | 1988 |
| Successor | Random House |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | New York City |
| Key people | Rex Stout (1926–1928) James Henle (1928–1952) Evelyn Shrifte (1952–1988) |
| Publication types | Books |
The Vanguard Press was a United States publishing house established with a $100,000 grant from the left-wing American Fund for Public Service, better known as the Garland Fund. Throughout the 1920s, Vanguard Press issued an array of books on radical topics, including studies of the Soviet Union, socialist theory, and politically oriented fiction by a range of writers. The press ultimately received a total of $155,000 from the Garland Fund, which separated itself[clarification needed] and turned the press over to its publisher, James Henle. Henle became sole owner in February 1932.[1]
Eschewing radical politics after 1929, the Vanguard Press operated as a respected independent literary house for 62 years. Its catalog of fiction, poetry, non-fiction and children's literature included the first books of Nelson Algren, Saul Bellow, Marshall McLuhan, Joyce Carol Oates and Dr. Seuss. With a valuable backlist of 500 titles, the company was sold to Random House in October 1988.[2]
In his history of book publishing, Between Covers (1987), John Tebbel wrote: "Vanguard never became a large and important house, but it continued to publish quality books year after year."[3]
- ^ "Book Notes," The New York Times, February 16, 1932
- ^ McDowell, Edwin, "Vanguard Will Merge with Random House"; The New York Times, October 25, 1988
- ^ Tebbel, John, Between Covers: The Rise and Transformation of Book Publishing in America. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987, p. 269.