Dell paperbacks accounted for nearly 20 percent of the paperbacks published between 1942 and 1962--a popular cultural phenomenon worthy of historical recognition. Putting Dell on the Map is an objective appraisal, rather than a court history of this major mass-market publisher. Early Dell books emphasized genre fiction--mysteries, romances, and westerns. Later the company published an important line of First Editions, which included the writings of authors such as Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., John D. MacDonald, Richard Jessup, and Robert Penn Warren. Dell also expanded its reprint efforts with...

Within the past decade paperback books have gained respectability among bibliophiles and scholars of popular culture. One of the most collectible runs of paperbacks by a single publisher is the 2,168 Dell Paperbacks produced between 1942 and May, 1962. During that period Dell books were grouped into distinct series and retained an identifiable look. In this catalog-index each of the paperbacks is entered separately in the catalog of series listings. Main entries include the full title and subtitle of the book, the author's byline, head or title notes, pagination, printing date and size of...