the Book of Pocket is the name of a literary collection appeared the February 9th 1953 under the impulse of Henri Filipacchi and published by the French general Librairie, subsidiary of Hachette.

History

Admittedly, of the books of a similar format, holding in a pocket, had already existed. As of 1905, the editions Jules Tallandier marketed, under name Livre of pocket , of the popular novels with low-costs, Hachette will have to repurchase the name besides to them. But the success met by the Book of Pocket is due to the conjunction of this new object of consumption with the time and the popular and student's request for a cheap and desacralized book, presented under covers pointing out the posters of cinema, but nevertheless vehicle of a literature of quality.

Henri Filipacchi succeeds in convincing his friends editors Albin Michel, Calmann-Levy, Grasset and Gallimard to join his project and to become thus the “founding fathers” of the Book of Pocket.

Thus Kœnigsmark , of Pierre Benoit, is the first title left in 1953. Each fortnight, a new title leaves. Very quickly, it becomes a made company . From 8 million specimens in 1957-1958, the sales pass to 28 million in 1969. This success inspires by the competitors: I read created by Flammarion in 1958, Presses Pocket created by the Presses of the City and Folio created by Gallimard in 1972 after his withdrawal of the French General Bookstore. But, with nearly a billion volumes diffused since its creation and more than 18 million sold specimens In 2002, it remains the first collection of French pocket of great diffusion.

Some figures

The capital of the French general Bookstore, public limit company, is held to 80% by Hatchet-Delivers and, to a total value of 20%, by the editions Albin Michel.
  • 3.500 titles with its catalog with the 31.12.2002
  • 14.000 titles published since 1953
  • 1 billion volumes diffused since the origin
  • 360 innovations per annum
  • 1.000 reprinted titles each year
  • more than 18 million specimens sold in 2002

The original collection

February 9th, 1953 is the date of the launching of the Book of Pocket n°1: Kœnigsmark of Pierre Benoit, n°2: Keys of the Kingdom of A.J. Cronin and n°3: Night flight of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

In the first 2.000 numbers, one finds the majority of traditional French. N°1 with the n°1800 (1967), the covers, often signed Jean-Claude Forest, are style “posts painted” characteristic. Then they are modernized. Pierre Faucheux has also gave covers famous in particular for Paroles of Jacques Prévert. The n° are currently in the neighborhoods of 18000, but there were holes.

The work more sold in Book of pocket: Large Meaulnes of Alain-Baker, followed Viper to the Fist of Herve Bazin (more than 4 million specimens each one). The author more sold: Agatha Christie (more than 40 million volumes), followed Emile Zola (22 million).

Other collections

  • 1955 : The Book of Pocket Practices
  • 1958: The Book of Normal ladle
  • 1960: The Police Book of Pocket
  • 1967: Launching of the series Jules Verne (begun again work in the Hetzel edition).
  • 1968: Creation of Method 90 (method of training autonomous of the languages).
  • 1976 - 1977: Creation of the Large Anthology of the Science fiction.
  • 1977: 1st Collection Science fiction
  • 1979: The Book of Pocket Youth
  • 1982: Biblio/Romance
  • 1983: Biblio/Tests
  • 1983: The Book of Pocket Thriller
  • 1984: 2nd Collection Science fiction
  • 1988: Modern Languages: collection of unilingual and bilingual works (English, German, Spanish, Italian…)
  • 1989: Gothic letters. Bilingual editions of literary texts of the Middle Ages
  • 1990: Traditional of Philosophy
  • 1991: Pochothèque (format 12,5 X 19): “the Traditional modern ones” including/understanding the essence of the work of authors such as Boris Vian, Stefan Zweig, Jean Giono, Lawrence Durrell, Virginia Woolf, Hermann Hesse, Arthur Rimbaud, Georges Perec
  • 1991: “Encyclopedias of today”: Encyclopedia of freemasonry, Dictionary of the French Letters, Dictionary of the historical characters, Atlas of philosophy, mathematics, the cinema…
  • 1992: The Book of Pocket References. This collection devoted to the social sciences proposes the texts of the most eminent specialists (fundamental texts, new works of synthesis).

Anecdotes

  • At the time of its fiftieth anniversary, a traditional exposition with the Book of Pocket took place with the Center Georges-Pompidou from March 5th to May 5th, 2003.

Bond external

  • Official site of the editions of the book of pocket
  • Official site of the price of the readers of the book of pocket
  • Base of data of the book format pocket
  • Secondhand bookseller of the book format pocket

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