NSW Bookstall Company was a
Sydney company which operated a chain of
newsagencies throughout
New South Wales. It was notable as a publisher of inexpensive
paperback books which were written, illustrated, published and printed in Australia, and sold to commuters at bookstalls in railway stations and elsewhere in
New South Wales.
History
The company was founded as the Sydney Bookstall Company by Henry Lloyd (ca.1847 – 24 September 1897) of "Linden Hall",
Annandale, New South Wales around 1880 as a newsagent. Its first foray into publishing may have been racebooks (
form guides or programmes) for the Hawkesbury Race Club around 1886.[1] Over its lifetime, the NSW Bookstall company published over 350 titles with over 1000 reprints, with total sales of over five million copies.[2][3]
A. C. Rowlandson (15 June 1865 – 15 June 1922) joined as a tram ticket seller in 1883 and built a strong interest in the business, which he bought from Henry Lloyd's widow. The greatest part of the company's business consisted of retailing local, interstate and overseas periodicals, postcards (
Neville Cayley produced a series) and stationery from its eight city shops and fifty-odd railway stall outlets, but was important as one of Australia's most successful book publishers and retailers of locally produced paperback books.[4][5][6]
On Rowlandson's death, Reg. Wynn (ca.1866 – 17 December 1925) took over as managing director, and W. A. Crew was circulation manager.[10] The company erected a large building at the corner of
Market Street and
Castlereagh Street.[3]
Reg. Wynn was succeeded by Paul Dowling.
With the onset of
World War II, imports of comic books was severely restricted, which opened the market, previously swamped by the U.S. and British houses, to anyone who could provide a quality product, and the NSW Bookstall Company was ideally placed to publish and distribute such work.
Tony Rafty, Will Donald, Tom Hubble,
Noel Cook and Terry Powis were among the more successful artists, and the partnership of Brodie Mack and writer Peter Amos (real name Archie E. Martin) produced some excellent work for the NSW Bookstall Company.[11] By 1949, the opportunity provided by wartime shortages no longer applied, and Australia was once again flooded with excess overseas production. Between 1957 and early 1958 the Company's assets had been sold.[2]
Titles
This list of titles of the range of NSW Bookstall titles, which is commonly referred as The
Bookstall Series,[12] is representative but not exhaustive.[3]
^
abcdefgh"Advertising". The Catholic Press. Sydney. 22 July 1915. p. 23. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia. An attractive advertisement.
^"Advertising". The World's News. Sydney. 2 January 1915. p. 26. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia. Illustrated advertisement
^"Heel Hitler!". The Australian Worker. Sydney. 22 January 1941. p. 7. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia. Donald was cartoonist for The Australian Worker
^"Advertising". The Evening News. Sydney. 14 February 1900. p. 1. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia. One of NSW Bookstall's earliest publications
Carol Mills, The New South Wales Bookstall Company as a Publisher, Canberra: Mulini Press, 1991.
Carol Mills, An Australian "Dime Novel" Publisher, Clayton, Victoria: Bibliographical Society of Australia and New Zealand, 1992.
Carol Mills, "The Bookstall novel: an Australian paperback revolution 1904–1946", in: Australian Cultural History, no. 11, 1992, pp. 87–99. In special issue: Books, Readers, Reading based on a conference at the University of New South Wales, June 1991.
Martyn Lyons and John Arnold, eds., A History of the Book in Australia, 1891–1945, Brisbane: Queensland University Press, 2001.
NSW Bookstall Company was a
Sydney company which operated a chain of
newsagencies throughout
New South Wales. It was notable as a publisher of inexpensive
paperback books which were written, illustrated, published and printed in Australia, and sold to commuters at bookstalls in railway stations and elsewhere in
New South Wales.
History
The company was founded as the Sydney Bookstall Company by Henry Lloyd (ca.1847 – 24 September 1897) of "Linden Hall",
Annandale, New South Wales around 1880 as a newsagent. Its first foray into publishing may have been racebooks (
form guides or programmes) for the Hawkesbury Race Club around 1886.[1] Over its lifetime, the NSW Bookstall company published over 350 titles with over 1000 reprints, with total sales of over five million copies.[2][3]
A. C. Rowlandson (15 June 1865 – 15 June 1922) joined as a tram ticket seller in 1883 and built a strong interest in the business, which he bought from Henry Lloyd's widow. The greatest part of the company's business consisted of retailing local, interstate and overseas periodicals, postcards (
Neville Cayley produced a series) and stationery from its eight city shops and fifty-odd railway stall outlets, but was important as one of Australia's most successful book publishers and retailers of locally produced paperback books.[4][5][6]
On Rowlandson's death, Reg. Wynn (ca.1866 – 17 December 1925) took over as managing director, and W. A. Crew was circulation manager.[10] The company erected a large building at the corner of
Market Street and
Castlereagh Street.[3]
Reg. Wynn was succeeded by Paul Dowling.
With the onset of
World War II, imports of comic books was severely restricted, which opened the market, previously swamped by the U.S. and British houses, to anyone who could provide a quality product, and the NSW Bookstall Company was ideally placed to publish and distribute such work.
Tony Rafty, Will Donald, Tom Hubble,
Noel Cook and Terry Powis were among the more successful artists, and the partnership of Brodie Mack and writer Peter Amos (real name Archie E. Martin) produced some excellent work for the NSW Bookstall Company.[11] By 1949, the opportunity provided by wartime shortages no longer applied, and Australia was once again flooded with excess overseas production. Between 1957 and early 1958 the Company's assets had been sold.[2]
Titles
This list of titles of the range of NSW Bookstall titles, which is commonly referred as The
Bookstall Series,[12] is representative but not exhaustive.[3]
^
abcdefgh"Advertising". The Catholic Press. Sydney. 22 July 1915. p. 23. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia. An attractive advertisement.
^"Advertising". The World's News. Sydney. 2 January 1915. p. 26. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia. Illustrated advertisement
^"Heel Hitler!". The Australian Worker. Sydney. 22 January 1941. p. 7. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia. Donald was cartoonist for The Australian Worker
^"Advertising". The Evening News. Sydney. 14 February 1900. p. 1. Retrieved 15 March 2015 – via National Library of Australia. One of NSW Bookstall's earliest publications
Carol Mills, The New South Wales Bookstall Company as a Publisher, Canberra: Mulini Press, 1991.
Carol Mills, An Australian "Dime Novel" Publisher, Clayton, Victoria: Bibliographical Society of Australia and New Zealand, 1992.
Carol Mills, "The Bookstall novel: an Australian paperback revolution 1904–1946", in: Australian Cultural History, no. 11, 1992, pp. 87–99. In special issue: Books, Readers, Reading based on a conference at the University of New South Wales, June 1991.
Martyn Lyons and John Arnold, eds., A History of the Book in Australia, 1891–1945, Brisbane: Queensland University Press, 2001.