Dell Publishing
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founded | 1921 |
| Founder | George T. Delacorte Jr. |
| Fate | Acquired by Doubleday in 1976 |
| Successor | Bantam Doubleday Dell (after acquisition) |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | Books, magazines, comic books |
| Parent | Penguin Random House (through acquisitions) |
Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is a United States-based publisher specializing in books, magazines, and comic books. Founded in 1921 by businessman George T. Delacorte Jr., the company started with a modest investment of $10,000, a pair of employees, and a single magazine title named I Confess. Dell quickly broadened its portfolio to include pulp magazines featuring genres such as detective fiction and romance.
Between the 1920s and 1940s, Dell established itself as a prominent magazine publisher, launching humor periodicals like 1000 Jokes in 1938. From 1929 until 1974, Dell produced comics under the Dell Comics banner, predominantly collaborating with Western Publishing. The company ventured into paperback books in 1943 with the creation of Dell Paperbacks, and later managed several imprints including Dial Press, Delacorte Books, Delacorte Press, Yearling Books, and Laurel Leaf Library.
In 1976, Dell was purchased by Doubleday, which itself was acquired by Bertelsmann a decade later in 1986. This acquisition integrated Dell into Random House, streamlining its corporate framework and expanding its international reach.
Paperbacks
Dell's entry into paperback publishing commenced in 1942 through a strategic alliance with Western Publishing, leveraging Western’s paper resources alongside Dell’s printing capabilities. This partnership enabled Dell to compete effectively with early paperback pioneers such as Pocket Books.
The company became known for its distinctive airbrushed cover art, frequent logo variations, and unique innovations like detailed maps on the back covers—commonly referred to as "mapbacks." These maps depicted significant settings from the novels, primarily mysteries but also encompassing romance, science fiction, war stories, Westerns, and even crossword puzzle collections.
The mapback series featured works from both emerging authors and acclaimed writers like Dashiell Hammett and John Steinbeck, boosting Dell’s popularity in the market. By the early 1950s, under editor-in-chief Frank Taylor, Dell shifted away from mapbacks towards traditional back cover summaries. Taylor also launched the Laurel Editions imprint, which presented classic literature and poetry edited by notable figures such as Richard Wilbur.
In the early 1960s, Dell introduced the Purse Book series—concise informational titles aimed at specialized audiences—and later published the paperback novel collection Twilight: Where Darkness Begins (1982–1987), reflecting continued product diversification aligned with shifting reader interests.
Dell Ten Cent Books
During this era, Dell experimented with two collectible series: Dell First Editions and Dell Ten Cent Books. The Ten Cent Books comprised 36 slim paperback volumes containing a single short story of approximately 64 pages. Marketed as "too short for popular reprint at a higher price," this series included titles such as Robert A. Heinlein's Universe (1951).
Dell First Editions showcased novels by prominent authors including John D. MacDonald, Fredric Brown, Jim Thompson, Elmore Leonard, and Charles Williams.
Comic strip reprints
In 1947, Dell released two unnumbered paperback editions inspired by well-known newspaper comic strips: Blondie and Dagwood in Footlight Folly and Dick Tracy and the Woo Woo Sisters. These particular editions have become prized items among collectors.
Dell today
Dell Publishing ceased operating as an independent entity following its purchase by Doubleday in 1976. Subsequently, Doubleday was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1986, resulting in the formation of the Bantam Doubleday Dell division within the United States. When Bertelsmann purchased Random House in 1998, it restructured its U.S. operations by merging Bantam with Dell Publishing under a new name.
Further expansion occurred in 2001 when Random House acquired the publishing assets of Golden Books, bringing together parts of Dell with former Western Publishing properties. By 2008, Bantam Dell was fully absorbed into Random House, which later merged with Ballantine Books in 2010. The 2013 combination of Random House and Penguin established the worldwide publishing powerhouse Penguin Random House, significantly broadening market reach and global presence.
Separately, Dell Magazines was divested to Penny Publications in 1996 and remains a prominent publisher focused on puzzle magazines as well as titles in science fiction, mystery, and horoscopes.
Imprints
- Dial Press
- Delacorte Books (Delacorte Press)
- Yearling Books
- Laurel Leaf Library
- Seymour Lawrence
Notable publications
- Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics (1933) – recognized as the first American comic book
- The New Century Family Money Book (1993)