Nelson collection

Created with Paris in the first years of the 20th century, the collection Nelson is the ancestor of the Livre of pocket. Published in French language with the mention “Paris, Nelson Editors, London, Edinburgh and New York”, the works are of small size, hard-bound, fabrics and covered with an illustrated jacket. The collection published several hundreds of volumes, sold at a moderate price, until the end of the Années 1930. These books are sought today by the amateurs.

History

The quadruple indication of place - Paris, London, Edinburgh and New York - is indissociable history of the Nelson editions.

The Nelson editions

In 1798, a Écossais of the name of Thomas Nelson founded with Edinburgh a Librairie intended for the sale of religious books of occasion. The firm turned soon to the reprinting of works Puritain S, then towards the publication of news as its catalog diversified. In the Years 1880, when this same company published the first works of another famous Écossais, Arthur Conan Doyle, the religious texts accounted for nothing any more but 6% of the total production.

Proceeding in this way, the Nelson house continued to develop in Great Britain; the Scottish writer John Buchan worked in the services of the subsidiary company of London before the First World War. Specialized in the popular and educational literature, Nelson became a powerful leading group during the 20th century. Since 2000, the company belongs to the group Nelson Thornes. The Canadian subsidiary company, as for it, belongs to Thomson Corporation.

In 1854, the house opened with New York a branch which made great strides even faster. As of the Years 1870, Nelson one of the largest New Yorkean editors, was specialized in the publication of the Bible and Christian texts. Today, the American group Thomas Nelson, whose head office is with Nashville, Tennessee, arrives at the sixth rank of the editors in the world and at the first rank of the Christian editors.

The Nelson collection

In April 1910, the company Thomas Nelson opened a branch with Paris and signed an agreement with the editor French Bernard Grasset, charged with the Distribution of the Livre S. the Head office, which was located at the 61, Rue of the Holy Father (seat of the Grasset editions) during the first year, moved then twice. The Parisian address in title page varies according to the times: 25, rue Denfert-Rochereau (in 1931) or 189, Street Saint-Jacob. Rare are volumes where figure a date. Some, not dated, raise a double mention: “Nelson Éditeurs, 189, rue Saint-Jacques, Paris” and “Calmann-Levy Éditeurs, 3, rue Auber, Paris”, which indicates a co-edition.

The first volumes, while being published completely in French, are marked in English “Nelson' S Continental Library”, together with following precision: “ For salts one the Continent only ”. Then the ranking “New Nelson Collection appears”.

Presentation

Format and binding

The works are all of the same format: approximately 11,5 cm out of 16,3 cm.

The first volumes, those of the Years 1910, are of blue color. Presentation the most known residence however that of the Years 1920, with a hard-bound Binding covered with a Percaline of color yellow-ivory, itself decorated of a garland and a framework in the form of medallion, green and mauve, in the style Art déco. The name of the author and the title appear inside this oval. On the back of the book, in lower part of the author and title, the same oval accompanied by the garland occupies the central place and contains the capital letter NR in Cursive stylized, distinctive sign of the collection. Later, during the Years 1930, the medallion will disappear with the profit from a sowing from green color on the same bottom yellow-ivory while the author and the title fit in a rectangular cartouche.

Jacket and illustrations

In all the cases, volume is protected by a jacket from paper, with an illustration full page color indicating the selling price, for example “3 francs” in 1912-1913. The reductions of the jacket offer a list of “already appeared” and announce the next publications.

The majority of the works comprise several illustrations Hors-texte color. They are printed on a fine paper, near to the Bible paper, which enables them to reach 550 pages without being sometimes thick. The impression is ensured by “printing works Nelson, Edinburgh, Scotland” and completed mentions: “ Printed in Great Britain ”.

Rate/rhythm of publication

The books of the “Nelson Collection, masterpieces of the literature, convenient format, impression in very readable characters on paper of luxury, illustrations except text, binding as solid as elegant”, appear with the rate/rhythm of “two volumes per month”, it is specified at the end of the works.

Current dimension of the works

Today sought by the Collector S for the quality of the texts - but also of paper, the impression and the binding -, these books are accessible at a all the more reasonable price as they are not rare. The majority hardly exceed the price of a book of pocket nine. The initial Tirage S were indeed considerable, since the editor S addressed from the start to the General public. In addition, the number of titles published - approximately 450 - fact that many volumes circulate on the market, as well in the secondhand trades on Internet. So much of them lost their jacket of origin, the binding called “as solid as elegant” knew to give the proof of its robustness.

Extracted the catalog

Apart from texts in historical or religious matter, the collection published mainly Romance and Récit S as well Littéraire S as Populaire S, French-speaking people or translated into French. Certain works are collections of “selected Pieces” of an author or Anthologie S by literary Genre. Lastly, the “literature for youth” occupies a significant place there, parallel to the French or foreign great classics.

History, memories, religion

Part of the collection is devoted to memories and historical or religious texts: Mrs. Campan ( Memories on the life of Marie-Antoinette , extracted), Philippe de Ségur ( Memories of an aide-de-camp of Napoleon ), Mrs. d' Abrantès ( Memories , extracted, 2 vol.), Jules Michelet ( Convention , Of the 18 Brumaire in Waterloo ), François-Auguste Mignet ( the French revolution , 2 vol.), Francisque Sarcey ( the Head office of Paris ), Gabriel Hanotaux ( France in 1614 ), Emile Olivier ( the Forwarding of Mexico ), Pierre de Nolhac ( Marie-Antoinette Dauphine , the Queen Marie-Antoinette ), Emile Souvestre ( the Breton Hearth ), holy François Dirty ( Introduction to the life excessively pious woman ), Ernest Renan ( Life of Jesus ).

Traditional texts

Among the great classics of the literature, the authors published name Molière (complete Works, 6 vol., notes by Emile Faguet), the Heather ( Caractères ), Saint-Simon ( Court of Louis XIV selected , pieces), Bernardin of Saint-Pierre ( Paul and Virginia ), Chateaubriand ( Mémoires of in addition to-falls selected , pieces), Victor Hugo ( the Poor wretches , the Punishments , Contemplations , the Legend of centuries , Quatre-vingt-treize ), Balzac ( Eugenie Grandet , the Shagreen , the Priest of Turns , the Colonel Chabert , Chouans ), George Sand ( Mauprat , Small Fadette , the Pond with the devil ), Jules Sandeau ( Miss of Seiglière ), Stendhal ( Chartreuse of Parma , Red and the Black , 2 vol.), Flaubert ( Three tales , sentimental Education ), Eugene Fromentin ( Dominique ), Alfred de Vigny ( Five-March , Constraint and size soldiers ), Edgar Poe ( extraordinary Stories , New extraordinary Stories ), Mérimée ( Chronic of the reign of Charles IX , Colomba , Carmen ).

Novels of the 19th century

The large texts of fiction of the 19th century are numerous: Théophile Gautier ( the Captain Crashes to pieces , 2 vol., the Novel of the mummy ), Edmond About ( Marriages of Paris ), Alphonse Daudet ( Lettres of my mill , Contes of Monday ), Dostoïevski ( an annoying history ), Tolstoï ( Anna Karénine , 2 vol.), Tourgueniev ( Fumée , a brood of gentlemen ), Anatole France ( Jocaste , the thin Cat ), Victor Cherbuliez ( the Adventure of Ladislas Bolski ), Claude Tillier ( My uncle Benjamin ), Ferdinand Fabre ( Mr Jean ), Alexandre Dumas wire ( the Lady with the camellias ), Eugene Roy ( Jacquou Crunching it ), Edmond de Goncourt ( the Brothers Zemganno ), Octave Layer ( the Novel of a poor young man ), Jules Lemaître ( the Kings ), Ludovic Halévy ( Criquette ), Henry Gréville ( Sonia ), Emile Gebhart ( Around a tiara ), Louis Hémon ( the Beautiful one that here… ), Emile Zola ( the Dream ), Mark Twain ( selected Tales ), Péladan ( Lovers of Pisa )…

Beginning of the 20th century

More recent writers are represented: Maurice Bars ( Colette Baudoche , Uprooted the ), J. - H. elder Rosny ( the War of fire ), Blasco Ibanez ( bloody Arenas , the Horde ), Maurice Maeterlinck (selected Pieces), Pierre Parcelled out ( the Novel of a child , Jerusalem , Towards Ispahan ), Henri de Régnier ( Holidays of a wise young man ), Rene Bazin ( the Barrier ), Henry Bordeaux ( Roquevillard , the Crossroads ), Rene Boylesve ( the Child with the balustrade ), Paul Le Bourget ( the Disciple ), Rudyard Kipling ( Simple Tales of the hills , New Tales of the hills ), Norman Angell ( the Great Illusion ), Grazia Deledda ( Elias Portolu ), Georges Duhamel ( Confession of midnight ), Leon Frapié ( the Schoolgirl ), Emile Guillaumin ( Life of simple a ), Jean-Louis Vaudoyer ( Love masked )…

Novels of adventures

The collection includes/understands authors of police literature or espionage, such John Buchan ( the 39 Steps , the Power station of energy , the Priest Jean ).

Lastly, the catalog attaches a great importance to the literature for youth and the Historical novel: Alexandre Dumas with more than sixty books, Daniel Defoe ( Robinson Crusoé ), Charles Dickens ( Adventures of Mr. Pickwick , 3 vol.), Bulwer-Lytton ( Last Days of Pompéi ), R.L. Stevenson ( the Island with the treasure ), Sienkiewicz ( Quo vadis? , expurgée version), the Baroness Orczy ( the Scarlet pimpernel ), Walter Scott ( Ivanhoe , Quentin Durward ), Jack London ( Hook-White ), James Oliver Curwood ( Wandering of North ), Gyp ( the Marriage of Rag , Small Bob ), Andre Lichtenberger ( Gorri the Pirate , the Little sister of Trott )…

Readers of Nelson

During more than one quarter century, this collection which was addressed to the general public but also, more particularly, to the teenagers was very popular, and many are the writers who discovered the literature and the novels of adventures thanks to it. Among the authors who pay homage to him, one will quote in particular Albert Camus in the First Man : “Jacques could have distinguished the closed eyes a book of the Nelson collection.”

Sources

For the history, this article is inspired partly by the article.
See also: John A.H. Dempster, Thomas Nelson and Sounds in the Late Nineteenth Century , Publishing History n° 13,1983, pp. 41-87, and Publishing History n° 14,1983, pp. 5-63.

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