Letter from Russell Hoban, author of Bread and Jam for Frances
Russell Hoban is known for his classic series about Frances, a badger who is a picky eater with a huge aversion to eggs (Bread and Jam for Frances). More
Thomas Nelson: Growth
By 1844, Thomas Nelson’s company had grown large enough to open an office in London, under the leadership of Thomas Nelson Jr. and William Nelson. More
Under the Volcano
A landmark of modernism, hailed as “one of the towering novels of this century” (New York Times). 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
Harold and the Purple Crayon
Classic children’s story about imagination that has never been out of print. More
Seven Years in Tibet
A landmark in travel writing, it has been translated into fifty-three languages. More
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
Mere Christianity
Considered one of the most popular introductions to Christianity ever written. More
Bread and Jam for Frances
Beloved story featured on at least two “top 100 picture books of all time” lists. More
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 Bear Called Paddington
In 1958, an editor at Collins named Barbara Ker Wilson received a manuscript submission about a talking bear, which she opened with “initial suspicion” —as the publisher had received many other proposals featuring humanized animals that “are invariably either whimsy-whamsy, written down, or filled with adult innuendoes.” More
Publishing Firsts: Producing Books Electronically
Although word-processing programs and electronic typewriters had been around since the late 1960s, Harper & Row was the first to help pioneer electronic publishing with Andrew Garve’s The Long Short Cut in 1968, which was, according to the New York Times, “the first book set into type completely by electronic composition.” More
Goodnight Moon
Every child’s must-have bedtime classic; beloved by generations of readers and listeners. More
Letter from Ursula Nordstrom regarding Frog and Toad Are Friends
This humorous letter from 1970 was written by Ursula Nordstrom, head of the U.S. Harper Children’s division, to Frog and Toad Are Friends author and illustrator Arnold Lobel. More
The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book
An innovative landmark from “one of the really great cooks of all time” (James Beard). More
The Ipcress File
Deighton’s classic first novel broke the mold of the thriller genre. More
Letter from E. B. White regarding Stuart Little
B. White (Andy) writes to his editor Eugene Saxton (Gene), presenting his manuscript for Stuart Little... More
1963: Maurice Sendak receives the Caldecott Medal for Where the Wild Things Are…
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak is published. It is awarded the 1964 Caldecott Medal. More
New Naturalists
William Collins V (known as Billy Collins) and the printers AdPrint came up with the idea of the New Naturalist Library in 1942.
More
Ursula Nordstrom
When Anne Carroll Moore, the powerful and opinionated superintendent of children’s work at the New York Public Library, asked Harper & Brothers editor Ursula Nordstrom why she felt qualified to produce children’s books, Nordstrom said only this: “Well, I am a former child, and I haven’t forgotten a thing.” More
Amelia Bedelia
The first book featuring the now-classic, hilariously literal-minded character Amelia Bedelia. More
Stride Toward Freedom
Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s memoir of the Montgomery bus boycott. More
Letter to Eleanor Roosevelt regarding a new autobiographical book
Harper editor and chairman of the board Cass Canfield sent this letter, dated April 10, 1951, to Eleanor Roosevelt... More
The Sheltering Sky
Bowles’s landmark literary novel, a classic work of psychological terror. More
Original artwork suggested by Syd Hoff for Danny and the Dinosaur
Illustrator Syd Hoff sent these sketches to Ursula Nordstrom, head of the U.S. Harper Children’s division, as suggestions for the now-classic Danny and the Dinosaur. More
Crime & Mystery At HarperCollins
In 1860, Harper & Brothers had paid Wilkie Collins £750 for The Woman in White, which heralded the publisher’s entry into the crime and mystery genre. More
Social Change: Sex in the 20th Century
In between the two world wars, Harper authors tackled the then taboo subject of sex. More