Cupples & Leon
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founded | 1902 |
| Founder | Victor I. Cupples, Arthur T. Leon |
| Defunct | 1956 |
| Fate | Acquired by Platt & Munk |
| Headquarters | New York City, Manhattan , United States |
| Products | Children's literature, juvenile fiction, comic strip compilations |
Cupples & Leon was a United States-based publishing firm established in 1902 by Victor I. Cupples (1864–1941) and Arthur T. Leon (1867–1943). Focusing primarily on children's literature and juvenile fiction, the company emerged as a prominent publisher of early 20th-century comic strip compilations.
Located in Manhattan, their initial office was situated in the Presbyterian building at 156 Fifth Avenue before relocating to 449 Fourth Avenue during the 1920s.
Juvenile adventure books
Victor Cupples brought experience from Houghton Mifflin, while Arthur Leon had previously been affiliated with Laird & Lee. In 1902, they operated the New York agency for George W. Ogilvie Company along with other Chicago-based publishers and managed advertising for Jamieson-Higgins' Four O'Clock magazine. Noticing that competitors such as Grosset & Dunlap, A. L. Burt, Donohue, and Altemus priced juvenile titles between $0.25 and $1.25, Cupples & Leon introduced a 50-cent juvenile edition designed to provide enhanced value for buyers.
They issued American versions of the British children's periodical Chatterbox, which contributed to solidifying their foothold in the market. Their marketing strategies were innovative, featuring book jackets with coupons that encouraged readers to submit friends’ names in exchange for illustrated catalogs, thereby creating a mailing list estimated at half a million contacts.
By 1913, their offerings included Roy Rockwood's Dave Dashaway aviation adventure series and scouting-themed serialized novels, alongside the well-liked Motor Boys series. In 1914, they published an edition of Grimm's Fairy Tales illustrated by Johnny Gruelle.
Comic strips
Starting in 1903, Cupples & Leon compiled popular comic strips such as The Katzenjammer Kids, Alphonse and Gaston, and Happy Hooligan. Their primary rival in the comic strip reprint domain was Frederick A. Stokes, who passed away in 1939.
To reproduce these strips, the firm offered a 52-page black-and-white paperback with flexible cardboard covers priced at 25 cents. From 1906 through 1934, they released more than 100 titles in this format, featuring top strips like Bringing Up Father, Little Orphan Annie, Mutt and Jeff, and Tillie the Toiler. Between 1919 and 1934, they produced at least eighteen softcover collections of Mutt and Jeff daily strips measuring 10" × 10". In 1921, they secured a substantial $405,000 contract with magazine distributor American News Company, marking one of the era’s largest publishing agreements.
Cupples & Leon also published two hardcover volumes: Mutt and Jeff Big Book (1926) and its follow-up in 1929. The company withdrew from the comic strip reprint business in 1934 to concentrate on juvenile literature, coinciding with the emergence of modern comic books such as Famous Funnies. Arthur Leon estimated that over 35 million copies of their comic strip reprints had been sold.
Death of founders and sale
Victor Cupples passed away in July 1941 in Mount Vernon, New York. Arthur Leon died in December 1943 in New Rochelle, New York, with his wife Louise Heroy Leon following in February 1948.
In 1956, Cupples & Leon was acquired by the publishing house Platt & Munk.