Dover Publications facts for kids
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| Parent company | LSC Communications |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1941 |
| Founder | Hayward Cirker and Blanche Cirker |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | Mineola, New York |
| Distribution | Self-distributed (US) F&W Media International (UK) Peribo (Australia) Intersoft (South Africa) |
| Publication types | Books, sheet music |
Dover Publications, also known as Dover Books, is an American company that publishes books. It was started in 1941 by Hayward and Blanche Cirker. Dover is well-known for reprinting books that are no longer printed by their first publishers. Many of these books are in the public domain, meaning anyone can use them freely. Dover makes these important books available again at a much lower cost.
Contents
What Kind of Books Does Dover Publish?
Dover prints many classic books, including famous stories and poems. They also publish classical sheet music and old pictures from the 1700s and 1800s.
The company also has a large collection of books about math, science, and engineering. They often print books for special interests, like woodworking. Since 2015, Dover has also started reprinting graphic novels.
Most of Dover's reprints are exact copies of the original books. This means they keep the same page numbers and text style. Sometimes, they add a new introduction to the book. Dover usually gives its paperback books new, colorful covers. They might also change a book's title to make it sound more modern. For example, a book called Woodward's National Architect was renamed A Victorian Housebuilder's Guide.
How Dover Publications Started
Hayward and Blanche Cirker began their business by selling leftover textbooks through the mail. Their first book was Tables of Functions with Formulas and Curves. This book was published because its German copyright was canceled during World War II.
The book became very popular by surprise. This success helped Dover create its business plan: publishing special or less common books at a low price. One of Dover's most popular books was Albert Einstein's The Principle of Relativity. Einstein was not sure about reprinting it, but he agreed.
Dover and Paperback Books
Dover helped change how paperback books were sold. In 1951, they released some of the first standard-sized paperbacks. This type of book is now known as a trade paperback. Since the 1960s, most of Dover's books have been paperbacks of different sizes.
Dover paperbacks were special because their pages were sewn together. Most other paperbacks at the time used glue, which could cause pages to fall out.
In the 1950s, Dover also created a series of "Listen & Learn" language courses. These courses were mostly put together by teachers from Columbia University.
Dover Thrift Editions
Starting in the 1990s, Dover began publishing a special line of low-cost books called "Dover Thrift Editions." These books are usually priced at US$5 or less. They contain classic stories and other works that are in the public domain. Dover also has several lines of books in different languages.
Changes in Ownership
Hayward Cirker passed away in 2000. In the same year, Courier Corporation bought Dover Publications.
Later, in 2015, RR Donnelley bought Courier. Then, in 2016, RR Donnelley split into three separate companies. Dover became part of LSC Communications.
In 2020, LSC Communications faced financial challenges and changed ownership. The company was bought by Atlas Holdings, a private equity company, in December 2020.
Blanche Cirker, the co-founder, passed away in 2022.
See also
In Spanish: Dover Publications para niños
