Vanguard Press

Vanguard Press
Company type	Private
Industry	Publishing
Founded	1926
Founder	Garland Fund
Fate	Acquired by Random House in October 1988
Headquarters	New York City, United States
Key people	James Henle (president and owner from 1932), Evelyn Shrifte (president 1952–1988)
Products	Books (radical literature, fiction, poetry, children's books, nonfiction)
Parent	Random House (from 1988)

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Vanguard Press, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 25 July 2025

Vanguard Press was an American publishing company established in 1926, funded initially by a $100,000 grant from the leftist American Fund for Public Service (Garland Fund). Its early publications concentrated on radical subjects such as Soviet affairs and socialist ideology. The Garland Fund contributed a total of $155,000 before the firm’s ownership passed to James Henle in 1932.

Post-1929, Vanguard transitioned from its radical roots to develop into a respected independent literary publisher, maintaining this status for 62 years. The press’s offerings featured early works by notable authors including Nelson Algren, Saul Bellow, Marshall McLuhan, Joyce Carol Oates, and Dr. Seuss. By the time of its acquisition by Random House in October 1988, Vanguard’s catalog boasted a valuable backlist of approximately 500 titles.

John Tebbel remarked in Between Covers (1987) that although Vanguard "never became a large and important house," it consistently produced quality publications over the years.

Founding

In May 1926, the Garland Fund provided $100,000 to create Vanguard Press with the goal of reprinting leftist classics affordably and publishing works neglected by mainstream publishers. The company’s founders and board included figures such as Roger Baldwin, Scott Nearing, and Rex Stout—who served as president until 1928. After Garland Fund support ended, James Henle took over as president.

Vanguard modeled itself on popular mass-market series like the Little Leather Library and Emanuel Haldeman-Julius’s Little Blue Books. It branded itself as the "Ford of Book Publishing," producing low-cost editions aimed at labor groups and liberal organizations. The press offered to cover half the expenses for educational works, printing runs of roughly 2,000 copies priced between 75 cents and $1 by 1928.

Overall, the Garland Fund invested $155,000 in Vanguard. In June 1928, Vanguard absorbed Macy-Masius, briefly co-managed by George Macy and Jacob Baker.

With the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, Vanguard moved away from radical politics toward mainstream literature and non-political topical books covering subjects like Charles Lindbergh and organized crime.

Based in New York City, Vanguard initially operated out of 80 Fifth Avenue before relocating to 100 Fifth Avenue in 1928 and later moving to 424 Madison Avenue during the mid-1930s.

Acquisition by James Henle

In February 1932, James Henle—who had been president for three years—became the sole proprietor of Vanguard Press. Henle previously worked as a labor reporter for the New York World and brought several investigative journalists into Vanguard’s fold. One of the company’s significant successes was 100,000,000 Guinea Pigs (1933), authored by Arthur Kallet, which exposed hazardous consumer products; Kallet later founded Consumers Union and Consumer Reports. Its follow-up title, Counterfeit, advocated for ending profit-driven production and identified Kallet as a Communist.

Vanguard published more than thirty works by James T. Farrell, including his acclaimed Studs Lonigan trilogy. It also released Donald Henderson Clarke's Female (1933), which faced obscenity accusations. Media historian John Tebbel observed that Vanguard encountered censorship battles over titles like Our Fair City and Calder Willingham's End as a Man. Additionally, during the 1920s and ’30s, the House Un-American Activities Committee investigated Vanguard for publishing Communist and left-wing authors; HUAC subsequently issued an apology. In the late 1940s, Vanguard removed Communist affiliates from its staff roster, including founder Kallet.

The press earned acclaim for launching new voices in fiction, poetry, children’s books, and nonfiction. It published first works by Dr. Seuss, Saul Bellow, Nelson Algren, Calder Willingham, and Marshall McLuhan. Among its notable successes was Auntie Mame (1955), which became a bestseller after multiple rejections elsewhere. Other prominent titles included Pierre Boulle's The Bridge over the River Kwai (1954) and Planet of the Apes (1963), along with Joyce Carol Oates’ debut novel followed by twenty more books including her National Book Award-winning Them (1970).

Evelyn Shrifte joined Vanguard in the early 1930s and rose to become president in 1952, distinguishing herself as one of the pioneering women leading a publishing firm.

Acquisition by Random House

Evelyn Shrifte, who served as president of Vanguard Press for 36 years, managed the company's acquisition by Random House in October 1988. This move was largely influenced by the deteriorating health of several principal investors. The valuable backlist of approximately 500 titles was absorbed into Random House's offerings, with the Vanguard Press imprint continuing to appear on title pages for ten years following the sale.

Reflecting on the transition, Shrifte remarked, "Random House will provide excellent care for our books and authors."

In 1989, Random House contributed Vanguard’s extensive archival collection—covering materials from its founding in 1925 through roughly 1985 and comprising more than 129,000 documents—to Columbia University. Meanwhile, Evelyn Shrifte’s personal archives are maintained at Syracuse University.

Vanguard Publishing

A separate enterprise named Vanguard Productions was established by J. David Spurlock in 1991 and secured the trademark for Vanguard Publishing in 2006 (Registration Number 3429227). Operating primarily under the name Vanguard Publishing, this firm focuses on art books and graphic novels and holds the sole authorized trademark for publishing under the Vanguard brand. It has entered into limited coexistence agreements with the Vanguard Group, Vanguard Animation, and Perseus Books Group.

Perseus Books Group

In 2007, Roger Cooper of Perseus Books Group introduced an unrelated imprint called Vanguard Press through a licensing arrangement with the owners of Vanguard Productions’ trademark. This imprint ceased operations around 2012, while all trademark rights remained with Vanguard Productions.

Authors

Below is a list of prominent authors affiliated with Vanguard Press, along with their years of publication. This selection illustrates the company’s extensive influence and literary presence over many decades.

Karin Abarbanel (1975)
Leonard D. Abbott (1926)
Nelson Algren (1935)
Saul Bellow (1944–1947)
Pierre Boulle (1954–1986)
Ernest Hemingway (1945–1949)
Dr. Seuss (1937–1938)
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1926)
Jack London (1926)
V. S. Naipaul (1959–1960)
Joyce Carol Oates (1963–1979)
George Bernard Shaw (1926–1957)
Upton Sinclair (1927–1931)
H. G. Wells (1927–1940)
Oscar Wilde (1928)

Bibliography of Garland Fund Era Publications (1926–1931)

Note: The dates listed correspond to first editions when available, based on direct examination of title pages as well as ABEBooks.com and WorldCat records.

Social Science Classics

1. John Ruskin, Ruskin's Views of Social Science. Edited with introduction by J. Fuchs.
2. Leo Tolstoi, War – Patriotism – Peace. Edited with introduction by Scott Nearing.
3. P.J. Proudhon, Proudon's Solution of the Social Problem. Edited with introduction by Henry Cohen.
4. Karl Marx, The Essentials of Marx. Edited with introduction by Algernon Lee. (1926)
5. Nikolai Lenin, Imperialism and The State and Revolution. (November 1926)
6. Peter Kropotkin, The Conquest of Bread.
7. Peter Kropotkin, Kropotkin's Revolutionary Pamphlets. Introduction by Roger Baldwin.
8. Jack London, London's Essays of Revolt. Introduction by Leonard D. Abbott. (December 1926)
9. H. G. Wells, Social Emancipation. Edited with introduction by Harry W. Laidler.
10. Edward Carpenter, Love's Coming of Age. (December 1926)
11. Thorstein Veblen, The Theory of the Leisure Class. (October 1926; originally published in 1899)
12. Franz Oppenheimer, The State.
13. Henry George, Progress and Poverty. (abridged edition)
14. Benjamin R. Tucker, Individual Liberty. Edited with introduction by C.L.S..
15. Robert Blatchford, Not Guilty.
16. Peter Kropotkin, The Great French Revolution, 1789-1793, in two volumes; translated by N.F. Dryhurst.

Social Philosophies

51. Clarence L. Swartz, Defining Mutualism
52. James Peter Warbasse, Understanding Cooperation
53. Louis F. Post, Exploring the Single Tax Concept
54. Jessie W. Hughan, An Introduction to Socialism (October 1928)
55. Alexander Berkman, An Overview of Communist Anarchism

Note: Although Vanguard Press announced in 1928 that What is Communism? was forthcoming, it ultimately appeared only in 1936, authored by Earl Browder, then General Secretary of the Communist Party USA.

Current Questions

61. Charles H. Wesley, African American Labor in the United States
62. Coleman, Hayes, and Wood, Resistance and Rights: Don't Tread on Me
63. A.S. Sachs, Fundamental Principles of Scientific Socialism (April 1927; initially issued by Rand School of Social Science in 1925)
64. Harry Laidler and Norman Thomas, editors, New Approaches in Social Conflict: A Symposium (1926; published for the League for Industrial Democracy)
65. Scott Nearing, The British General Strike (late 1926)
66. Upton Sinclair, Religious Profits Examined
67. John M. Work, Distinguishing Fact from Fiction (1927; originally published in 1905)
68. Warren Edwin Brokaw, Building an Equitable Society
69. Leon Whipple, The Evolution of Civil Liberty in the United States (March 1927)
70. C.H. Hamlin, Debunking the War Myth in U.S. History
71. Norman Thomas, Is Conscience Criminal? (March 1927; first issued by Huebsch in 1923)
72. Scott Nearing, The Direction of Civilization (April 1927)
73. Robert W. Dunn, Company Unions, with an introduction by Louis Budenz
74. B. Liber, Child Welfare and the Home Environment
75. Harry Laidler and Norman Thomas, Socialism Today (published for the League for Industrial Democracy)
76. Hugo Bilgram, Solutions to Overproduction and Unemployment
No number: Charles Erskine Scott Wood, Heavenly Discourse, featuring illustrations by Art Young, a frontispiece by Hugo Gellert, and a foreword by Floyd Dell (June 1927; for The New Masses)
No number: Harry W. Laidler and Norman Thomas, editors, Prosperity? A Symposium (November 1927; for the League for Industrial Democracy)

Studies of Soviet Russia

Note: This series was initiated to mark the tenth anniversary of the Russian Revolution. The Series Editor was Jerome Davis.

91. H.N. Brailsford, Inside Soviet Operations (November 1927)
92. Karl Borders, Life in Soviet Villages (November 1927)
93. Scott Nearing and Jack Hardy, Economic Structure of the Soviet Union (November 1927)
94. R. Page Arnot, Soviet Russia and Its Neighbors (November 1927)
95. Julius F. Hecker, Religion within Soviet Territories
96. Avrahm Yarmolinsky, Jewish and Other Minority Groups Under Soviet Rule (1938)
97. Anna J. Haines, Healthcare Initiatives in Soviet Russia (March 1928)
98. Jessica Smith, Women’s Roles in Soviet Russia
99. Robert W. Dunn, Trade Unions in the Soviet System (March 1928)
100. Lucy L.W. Wilson, New Educational Institutions in Soviet Russia
101. Roger N. Baldwin, Freedom under Soviet Governance (November 1928)

Fiction and Biography

111. Upton Sinclair, Love's Pilgrimage: A Novel. Presented in Two Volumes.
112. William Edge, The Main Stem.
113. John Reed, Daughter of the Revolution and Other Stories. Preface by Floyd Dell. (August 1927)
114. Grace Scribner, An American Pilgrimage: Selected Letters of Grace Scribner. Edited by L. Winifred. (1927)
115. Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward.
116. William Morris, News from Nowhere.
117. Upton Sinclair, The Jungle.
118. Ivan Cankar, Yerney's Justice. Translated by Louis Adamic. (1926)
119. M.H. Hedges, Dan Minturn.
120. R.W. Postgate, Out of the Past.

Great Books Made Easy

141. Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man. Condensed by Newell R. Tripp.
142. Ernst Haeckel, The Riddle of the Universe. Summarized by Vance Randolph.
143. Henry Thomas Buckle, History of Civilization in England. Abridged by Clement Wood.
144. W.E.H. Lecky, History of European Morals. Condensed by Clement Wood.
145. John William Draper, History of the Conflict Between Religion and Science. Edited by Sprading.
146. Lester F. Ward, Sociology. Introduction provided by Harry Elmer Barnes.

Educational Outlines

161. John Haldane Blackie, The ABC of Art. (August 1927)
162. Vance Randolph, The ABC of Evolution. (1926)
163. Vance Randolph, The ABC of Psychology.
164. Vance Randolph, Your Body: The ABC of Physiology. (1927)
165. Jay L.B. Taylor, The ABC of Astronomy.
166. Allison Hardy [pen name for Vance Randolph], Written in the Rocks: The ABC of Geology.
167. Vance Randolph, Flora and Fauna: The ABC of Biology. (1927)
168. Newell R. Tripp, The ABC of Chemistry.
169. Jay L.B. Taylor, The ABC of Physics.
170. W. Lockwood Marsh, Wings: The ABC of Flying. (1929)
171–173: H.C. Thomas and W.A. Hamm, Foundations of Modern Civilization: Three volumes covering history from earliest times to the present day (1927–1928).

American Imperialism

Melvin M. Knight, The Americans in Santo Domingo.
M.A. Marsh, The Bankers in Bolivia.
L.H. Jenks, Our Cuban Colony.

Miscellaneous Titles

1927 American Labor Year Book.
The American Labor Who's Who.

Unnumbered Publications from 1929 by Author

Harry Elmer Barnes, The Twilight of Christianity.
McAlister Coleman, Pioneers of Freedom: Eleven Short Biographies. Preface by Norman Thomas.
Donald Henderson Clarke, In the Reign of Rothstein.
Donald Henderson Clarke, Louis Beretti.
H.B. Drake, The Children Reap.
James Francis Dwyer, Evelyn: Something More than a Story.
C. Hartley Grattan, Why We Fought.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, The Dissenting Opinions of Mr. Justice Holmes. Introduction by George W. Kirchwey.
Edgar Jepson, The Cuirass of Diamonds.
Alexandra Kollontay, A Great Love.
Ferenc Molnár, The Plays of Ferenc Molnár. Preface by David Belasco.
Scott Nearing, Black America.
Suzanne Normand, Five Women on a Galley. Translated by G.S. Taylor.
R.W. Postgate, That Devil Wilkes.
M.P. Shiel, Cold Steel and Dr. Krasinski's Secret.
Rex Stout, How Like a God.
Edward Dean Sullivan, I'll Tell My Big Brother and Rattling the Cup on Chicago Crime.
John K. Winkler, John D.: A Portrait in Oils.
Charles Erskine Scott Wood, A Book of Tales: Being Some Myths of the North American Indians and The Poet in the Desert.
Voltaire, The Best of All Possible Worlds: Tales and Romances.' Introduction by Clarence Darrow.

Unnumbered 1930 publications by author

Anonymous, Ex-"It" (With Guilty Acknowledgments to Former Spouse and Lover). Illustrated by L.F. Grant.
Robert C. Binkley, Responsible Drinking.
James Boswell, The Conversations of Dr Johnson, edited by R.W. Postgate.
Louis Brandeis, The Social and Economic Perspectives of Mr. Justice Brandeis, edited by Alfred Leif.
Donald Henderson Clarke, Millie.
Freda Hauswirth Das, A Marriage to India.
Mary Ware Dennett, Who's Obscene?
James T. Farrell, The League of Frightened Philistines: And Other Essays.
William Floyd, People Versus Wall Street: A Mock Trial.
Joseph Freeman, Joshua Kunitz, and Louis Lozowick, Voices of October: Art and Literature in Soviet Russia.
Lev Goomilevsky, Dog Lane.
Carroll Graham and Garrett Graham, Queer People.
Lynn Haines and Dora B. Haines, The Lindberghs.
John Held Jr., Grim Youth and John Held Jr.'s Dog Stories.
Elisabeth Sanxy Holding, Dark Power.
Panait Istrati, The Thistles of the Baragan, translated by Jacques Le Clercq.
Emanuel H. Levine, The Third Degree: An In-Depth Report on Police Brutality.
Norman Matson, The Log of the Coriolanus.
Scott Nearing, The Twilight of Empire: An Economic Analysis of Imperialist Cycles.
Louis F. Post, The Prophet of San Francisco: Personal Memories and Interpretations of Henry George.
Harry Rogoff, An East-Side Epic: The Life and Work of Meyer London.
Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, The Letters of Sacco and Vanzetti, edited by Marion Deman Frankfurter and Gardner Jackson.
M.P. Shiel, The Black Box and The Purple Cloud.
Rex Stout, Seed on the Wind.
Edward Dean Sullivan, Chicago Surrenders.
Frank Tarbeaux with Donald Henderson Clarke, The Autobiography of Frank Tarbeaux.
Courtenay Terrett, Only Saps Work: A Ballyhoo for Racketeering.
Henry David Thoreau, Thoreau: Philosopher of Freedom: Writings on Liberty, introduction by James Mackaye.
John K. Winkler, Morgan the Magnificent: The Life of J. Pierpont Morgan (1837–1913).
Clement Wood, The Substance of the Sociology of Lester F. Ward.

Unnumbered 1931 publications by author

James W. Barrett, The World, The Flesh, and Messrs. Pulitzer.
Silas Bent, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes.
Heywood Broun and George Britt, Christians Only: A Study in Prejudice.
Donald Henderson Clarke, Impatient Virgin and Young and Healthy.
Frieda Hauswirth Das, Gandhi: A Portrait from Life.
Mary Ware Dennett, The Sex Education of Children: A Book for Parents.
Bailey W. Diffie, Porto Rico: A Broken Pledge.
Charles W. Gardner, The Doctor and The Devil; or Midnight Adventures of Dr. Parkhurst.
Mary Elisabeth Given (artist), The Lord's Prayer.
Carroll Graham and Garrett Graham, Whitey: The Playboy from "Queer People" Causes Havoc in Manhattan.
Ernest Gruening, The Public Pays: A Study of Power Propaganda.
John Held Jr., The Flesh is Weak and Women are Necessary.
Panait Istrati, The Bitter Orange Tree.
Garibaldi M. Lapolla, Fire in the Flesh.
Emanuel Levine, Gimme; or How Politicians Get Rich.
Alfred Lief (editor), Representative Opinions of Mr. Justice Holmes. Foreword by Harold J. Laski.
Scott Nearing, titles including: A Warless World: Is a Warless World Possible?, Another World War: World War Comes with World Civilization, and War: Organized Destruction and Mass Murder By Civilized Nations.
Katharine Pollak and Tom Tippett, Your Job and Your Pay: A Picture of the World in which We Work.
Vance Randolph, The Ozarks: An American Survival of primitive society.
Ben L. Reitman, The Second Oldest Profession: A Study of the Prostitutes' "Business Managers."
James Fred Rippy, The Capitalists and Colombia.
Joseph Van Raalte, The Vice Squad.
Dean Stiff, The Milk and Honey Route: A Handbook for Hobos.
Rex Stout, Golden Remedy.
John K. Winkler, Incredible Carnegie: The Life of Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919).
Charles Erskine Scott Wood, Too Much Government.
Helena Wright, The Sex Factor in Marriage: A Book for Those Who Are About to Be Married. Introductions by A. Herbert Gray and Abel Gregg.

External links

Vanguard Press archival guide, Columbia University; accessed June 15, 2020
Evelyn Shrifte Collection on Vanguard Press: Finding Aid, Syracuse University Library; accessed January 16, 2011