HarperCollins Publishers

Incidents of Travel in Yucatán

In 1839, American diplomat John Lloyd Stephens and British artist Frederick Catherwood—both already celebrated for their adventures in Egypt, the Holy Land, Greece, and Rome—sailed together out of New York harbor on an expedition into the forbidding rain forests of present-day Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico. More

1824: The first Collins dictionary is printed

Collins Globe Dictionary 500 illustrations (cover)

The first Collins dictionary is printed. More

Little Bear

The very first I Can Read! book has sold more than one million copies. More

Yates’ Garden Guide

Now in its seventy-eighth edition, this book was initially written to answer gardeners’ questions. More

The Pre-Packaged Library

An advertisement for the Collins Select Library of Christian Authors, which ran in The School Newspaper on January 2, 1882.

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

New Naturalists

An advertisement for the New Naturalist Library.

William Collins V (known as Billy Collins) and the printers AdPrint came up with the idea of the New Naturalist Library in 1942. More

A People’s History of the United States

Classic national bestseller that made a significant contribution to a complete and balanced understanding of American history. More

William Collins

Charles Chalmers and Rev. Thomas Chalmers.

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

1856: The first Collins Atlas is published

The first Collins Atlas is published. More

Collins Reference and Education

Title page of an 1869 Collins atlas, printed for the Scottish School Book Association and featuring Bartholomew maps.

William Collins spent his earliest years teaching before starting his publishing venture in 1819. More

Life on Earth

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

I Can Read!

Inspired by an occasion in which she attempted to find an appropriate book for a young boy who had just learned to read, Boston librarian Virginia Haviland telephoned her friend Ursula Nordstrom, the head of children’s publishing at Harper & Brothers. More

1877: Thomas Nelson introduces the Royal Readers and Royal School series

Thomas Nelson introduces the Royal Readers and Royal School series in response to the enactment of compulsory schooling laws and increased demand for instructional books. More

1837: Harper & Brothers debuts a first in packaging and distribution

Imahe of the a cabinet with text that reads: This New England School Library was probably assembled in 1843, although most of the titles were printed the preceding year. The Library was shipped in its self-contained, 19x29-inch, pine-board cabinet, which was fitted with shelves, a lock and key, and a top piece which could be nailed to a schoolroom wall. When this cabinet and its contents were recently found in the attic of a Connecticut house, only four of the seventy-five half-leather gold-stamped volumes were missing.

Harper & Brothers debuts its New England School Library, a first in packaging and distribution. More

The Publisher of presidents

A Time to Heal by Gerald R. Ford (1979).

HarperCollins is the publisher of many United States presidents–beginning with the very first one. More

Textbook Publishing: Row, Peterson & Co.

Title page for Open the Door by Mabel O’Donnell, illustrated by Florence and Margaret Hoopes, which was part of the Alice and Jerry Reading Program.

Robert Row was a textbook author and teacher. More

Education and Publishing

Title pages of several books featured in Harper’s Family Library in the 1830s, including The History of the Bible and The Lives of Celebrated Travelers.

Beginning in 1830, the Harper brothers believed that the increasingly literate populace might clamor for turnkey collections. More

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

The School Board Atlas // Twenty-Four Maps

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

2003: HarperCollins partners with an e-book loan service catering to public libraries…

New York Public Library at 42nd Street Rendering (Creative Commons License)

HarperCollins becomes the first major trade publisher to partner with an e-book loan service catering to public libraries. More

1902: Collins publishes the first Gem…

Collins publishes the first Gem, a Pocket Pronouncing Dictionary that has 608 pages and is 2½" x 4½" in size. More

The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World

With more than one million copies sold worldwide, it’s the world’s largest commercially available world atlas in print. More

Tag: Education