Tag: Collins

Queen Elizabeth II visiting the Collins Glasgow offices

Billy Collins, William Collins Sons & Co.’s incumbent chairman, greets Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at the Collins Glasgow offices as part of the company’s celebration of its 150th anniversary in 1969. More

1908: Collins obtains New Zealand Post Office Box #1…

During a time of expansion for Collins in New Zealand, the company obtains New Zealand Post Office Box #1 (which it continues to use to this day) and moves to a new building on Wyndham Street, which at eight stories high, was then Auckland’s tallest building. More

Bernard Cornwell

Born in London in 1944, Bernard Cornwell grew up in Essex and, after a stint as a teacher, moved on to the BBC, where he took a job as a producer in Northern Ireland. More

1953: William Collins and Sons gains the rights to publish C. S. Lewis…

William Collins and Sons purchases the religious publishing firm of Geoffrey Bles, Ltd., gaining the rights to the works of C. S. Lewis, including his Chronicles of Narnia fantasy books. More

1990: HarperCollins becomes the new global company name…

On May 29, 1990, HarperCollins becomes the new global name for the combined Harper & Row and Collins. More

Life on Earth

Established Sir David as a foremost naturalist and an iconic and beloved figure in British cultural life. More

Publishing Firsts: The Rotary Press

American inventor Richard Hoe’s 1847 four-cylinder rotary press helped increase printing output tenfold, to 8,000 pages per hour. More

1961: The first Beginner Books by Dr. Seuss are published by Collins in the UK…

The first Beginner Books by Dr. Seuss are published by Collins in the UK. This series includes The Cat in the Hat (which had been previously published by Collins in 1958 and was an immediate success) and Green Eggs and Ham. More

The Pre-Packaged Library

The Harper brothers created collections of titles that allowed readers to amass an entire library instead of buying just a single book. More

Doctor Zhivago

Collins was the first to publish this epic romantic drama by the Nobel Prize winner in English. More

Hilary Mantel

I read out of hope and avid curiosity, and in an attempt to live in other times, and inhabit bodies that are not my own. More

Hilary Mantel

Letter from Agatha Christie

This letter from Agatha Christie (here signing with her second married name, Mallowan) shows the close relationship she had with Collins publisher Billy Collins. More

A Game of Thrones

First volume in the internationally bestselling series that has sold upward of 70 million copies. More

Original cover design for a Collins Crime Club title

Here you can see the progression of the cover art for the Collins Crime Club title Nothing is the Number When You Die by Joan Fleming (circa 1940s). More

1954: The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien is published…

Publisher George Allen & Unwin, later purchased by HarperCollins, publishes the 9,250-page manuscript of The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien. More

Original cover artwork for a 1965 edition of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

This original illustration by Italian artist Giorgio de Gasperi was used as cover art for a 1965 edition of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe published by Collins in the U.K. More

1932: The Canadian branch of William Collins and Sons is founded in Toronto…

The Canadian branch of William Collins and Sons is founded in Toronto by Franklin F. Appleton. More

Michael Bond

I was brought up in a house where books were an essential part of the furnishings. More

Michael Bond

The Tiger Who Came to Tea

The beloved multimillion-copy-selling British picture book no childhood should be without. More

200 Years of HarperCollins Publishers

HarperCollins Publishers began as J. & J. Harper, a small family printing shop run by brothers James and John Harper in New York City in March 1817. More

What Do People Do All Day?

Over 100 million Scarry books have sold worldwide; a favorite in his classic Busytown series. More

William Collins

Born on the south side of Glasgow in the village of Pollokshaws in 1789, William Collins left school to work as a weaver and clerk in a local cotton mill. More

1862: Collins becomes the publisher for the Scottish School Book Association and Irish National Schools

Collins becomes the publisher for the Scottish School Book Association and Irish National Schools, by 1875 buying out the Scottish School Book Association and supplying books directly to schools. More

2017: HarperCollins celebrates its 200th anniversary…

HarperCollins Publishers celebrates its 200th anniversary. More

King James Version Bible (KJV)

Since granted the license to print the Bible in 1839, Collins has sold tens of millions of copies. More

1973: William Collins and Sons secures the rights to Solzhenitsyn’s The Gulag Archipelago…

William Collins and Sons secures the rights to Soviet dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s The Gulag Archipelago, an eye-opening work that exposes in startling detail the horrors of the communist regime in Russia. More

Publishing Firsts: Collins Illustrated Pocket Classics

At the turn of the century, William Collins III combined innovative packaging and distribution with innovative aesthetics by creating shilling-priced illustrated paperbacks. More