Penguin

“In 1935, if you wanted to read a good book, you needed either a lot of money or a library card. Available, but. Penguin, then a director of The Bodley Head.

 

After a weekend visiting Agatha Christie in Devon, he found himself on a platform at Exeter station searching its bookstall for something to read on his journey back to London, but discovered only popular magazines and reprints of Victorian novels.

 

Appalled by the selection on offer, Lane decided that good quality contemporary fiction should be made available at an attractive price and sold not just in traditional bookshops,but also in railway stations,tobacconists and chain stores.

 

He also wanted a 'dignified but flippant' symbol for his new business. His secretary suggested a Penguin and another employee was sent to London Zoo to make some sketches. 

 

Seventy years later Penguin is still one of the most recognizable brands in the world. The first Penguin paperbacks appeared in the summer of 1935 and included works by Ernest Hemingway,André Maurois and Agatha Christie. 

 

They were colour coded (orange for fiction, blue for biography, green for crime) and cost just sixpence,the same price as a packet of cigarettes. The way the public thought about books changed forever - the paperback revolution had begun.”

                                                                                        Excerpt taken from Penguin’s Myspace

 

 

This is a form of my showing of appreciation towards ‘Penguin’. For enabling those who can’t afford to buy expensive books to be able to acquire quality books for so much less. Recently I bought a Dostoyevsky’s for a very reasonable price and couldn’t be more pleased.

 

I would also like to add that the Penguin’s objective as a noble one and a very vigorous one especially towards the younger, upcoming generation. And lastly, hope that it’ll never perish and continue in helping others read more quality books that cost the same as a pack of cigarettes.