Gnome Press

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GNOME PRESS
Gnome Press was a small publishing firm located at 80 E. 11th Street in New York City, New York. They produced more than 50 books until they closed their doors in 1962.

Founded in 1948 by Martin Greenberg and David A. Kyle, the company specialized in science fiction, representing such classic sci-fi and fantasy writers as Isaac Asimov (“I, Robot”); Robert Heinlein (“Foundation Trilogy”); Robert E. Howard (“Conan the Barbarian” – which first appeared in Weird Tales); Wilmar Shiras (“Children of the Atom”); L. Spraque De Camp and Fletcher Pratt (“The Castle of Iron”); L. Ron Hubbard (“Typewriter in the Sky & Fear”); Arthur C. Clarke (“Against the Fall of Night”); Robert Silverberg (“Starman’s Quest”), as well as works by Jack Williamson, Clifford M. Simak, C. L. Moore, A. E. van Vogt, Leigh Brackett, Henry Kuttner, Hal Clement and half a dozen others.

Initially, David Kyle handled Gnome’s production and artwork, while Greenberg was in charge of the business and editorial ends of the company.



The company logo of a gnome reading a book under a toadstool was draw by Kyle. Most of Gnome Press’s books were hardcover, but some saw simultaneous softcover editions.

The first book published by Gnome Press was “The Carnelian Cube: A Humorous Fantasy” by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt. With a print run of 2000 books, the story followed an archaeologist who finds a stone which transports him to parallel worlds.

Their next book was a fantasy titled “The Porcelain Magician: A Collection of Oriental Fantasies” by Frank Owen, stories which previously appeared in the pulp magazine “Weird Tales” between 1923 and 1930.

In 1949, Gnome Press released “Pattern for Conquest: An Interplanetary Adventure” by George O. Smith.



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Gnome Press was an American small-press publishing company primarily known for publishing many science fiction classics. The company was founded in 1948 by Martin Greenberg and David A. Kyle. Many of Gnome's titles were reprinted in England by Boardman Books. Martin Greenberg of Gnome Press was a New York science fiction fan and member of the Hydra Club, not to be confused with the later Martin H. Greenberg the SF anthologist. David A. Kyle was another New York based science fiction fan, a Futurian as well as a member of the Hydra Club. The address was Gnome Press, Inc., 80 E. 11th St. New York 3, N.Y. Gnome was the first to publish Isaac Asimov's I, Robot and Foundation Trilogy, brought Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian stories back from pulp obscurity, first published Arthur C Clarke, and introduced science fictions first themed anthology Men Against the Stars. Controversy surrounds the Gnome Press editions of Robert E. Howard's "Conan" stories. The Gnome Press editions placed the material in print for the first time since its original appearance in Weird Tales, but also included one volume not written by Howard (The Return of Conan) and one volume of non-Conan Howard stories extensively rewritten as Conan by SF writer L. Sprague de Camp (Tales of Conan).It also published many of Robert A. Heinlein's classics, and Children of the Atom by Wilmar Shiras. Andre Norton worked as a reader for Gnome Press in the 1950s. Gnome featured the work of many noted science fiction artists as well as authors. Those who contributed illustrative material for Gnome editions, including cover art, illustrations, maps and designs, included Ric Binkley, Hannes Bok, Chesley Bonestell, Edd Cartier, Lionel Dillon, Frances E. Dunn, Ed Emshwiller, Frank Kelly Freas, James Gibson, Harry Harrison, Mel Hunter, David Kyle, Stan Mack, Murray Tinkelman, L. Robert Tschirky, Walter I. Van der Poel, Jr., and Wallace Wood. Gnome Press did not have much capital or access to distribution facilities. The company was notorious for not paying their writers royalties due, which is ultimately what lead to its failure. Asimov claimed he was never paid for the publication of the Foundation books, and called Greenberg "an outright crook". Asimov and other authors were able eventually to repossess the rights to their publications, and the company failed during 1962.Martin Greenberg was forced to close,to finacial troubles.According to Filmfax,Greenberg couldn't keep top science fiction and fantasy writers,who more money and went over to bigger publishers like Doubleday. PressUS specialist Small Press founded in 1948 by Martin Greenberg and David A Kyle. It was the most eminent of the fan publishers of sf, and produced more than 50 books, surviving into the early 1960s. It published many of the major sf authors, and in some cases, as with Robert E Howard's Conan series (published in 6 books 1950-1955) and Isaac Asimov's Foundation series (published in 3 books 1951-1953), was responsible for the manner in which their stories were collected into book form. Other authors included Arthur C Clarke, Robert A Heinlein and C L Moore. An associated imprint was Greenberg: Publisher, and in 1958 Gnome Press bought out the stock of Fantasy Press. Most of Gnome Press's books were hardcover, but some saw simultaneous softcover editions. Gnome Press was important in the transitional period between Genre SF as a magazine phenomenon and its arrival in mass-market book Publishing. Gnome Press publications are collected, and many of the books in well used condition can be inexpensively obtained (as of 2009 Amazon was offering several in the $3–$20 range). Other items are expensive. The calendars are particularly scarce. Among the books I, Robot, either in the Armed Forces paperback edition, or in the hardcover set from its plates, is in particular demand. . The first Robert E. Howard novel, “Conan the Conqueror” appeared in 1950 and was followed by several others, including “The Sword of Conan” (1952), “The Coming of Conan” (1953), “King Conan” (1953), “Conan the Barbarian” (1954), “Tales of Conan” (1955), and “The Return of Conan” (1957). As Gnome Press started to publish new books, Greenberg and Kyle set up the Fantasy Book Club, a subscription service designed to sell Gnome publications and books from other publishers at a discount.They also produced calendars featuring the black and white fantasy art of Hannes Bok & Edd Cartier. Below are examples of Edd Cartier’s art featuring gnomes and other fantasy characters.Gnome Press existed for just over a decade until they ultimately failed because of their inability to compete with major publishers who also started to publish science fiction. The larger publishers had more money, marketing and distribution outlets (the ability to sell wholesale to bookstores) while Gnome press relied on selling their books directly to fans by mail. “But if you look at one of Gnome Press’s old catalogs, you find you are staring at a million dollars. The authors they had! Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein. Arthur C. Clarke. They had them all. They had the rights to books that have collectively sold tens of millions, perhaps hundreds of millions, of copies since, and they had acquired them at prices that would make a cat weep.” – Frederik Pohl Financial mismanagement also cut into there ability to keep authors who jumped ship to the larger publishers. Author Isaac Asimov reported Gnome Press never paid him for his “Foundation” novels, but Asimov and other authors managed to get back the rights to their books to they could go to other more lucrative deals. In his biography, “I, Asimov: A Memoir,” by Isaac Asimov, the author provides a short chapter on his own frustrating interactions with Gnome Press, as well as some good detail on its publisher, Martin Greenberg.Had Gnome Press succeeded as a publisher and kept their stable of authors they would have been a powerhouse in the science fiction genre. When Gnome Press went out of business, it was $100,000 in debt. Martin Greenberg died in the fall of 2013. ====Works published by Gnome Press ==== ====References====
 * The Carnelian Cube, by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt (1948)* The Porcelain Magician, by Frank Owen (1948)* Pattern for Conquest, by George O. Smith (1949)* Sixth Column, by Robert A. Heinlein (1949)* The Thirty-First of February, by Nelson Bond (1949)* Men Against the Stars, edited by Martin Greenberg (1950)* The Castle of Iron, by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt (1950)* Minions of the Moon, by William Gray Beyer (1950)* Conan the Conqueror, by Robert E. Howard (1950)* I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov (1950)* Cosmic Engineers, by Clifford D. Simak (1950)* Seetee Ship, by Will Stewart (1951)* Tomorrow and Tomorrow & The Fairy Chessmen, by Lewis Padgett (1951)* Renaissance, by Raymond F. Jones (1951)* Typewriter in the Sky & Fear, by L. Ron Hubbard (1951)* Travelers of Space, edited by Martin Greenberg (1951)* Journey to Infinity, edited by Martin Greenberg (1951)* Foundation, by Isaac Asimov (1951)* The Mixed Men, by A. E. van Vogt (1952)* City, by Clifford D. Simak (1952)* Robots Have No Tails, by Lewis Padgett (1952)* Judgment Night, by C.L. Moore (1952)* The Sword of Conan, by Robert E. Howard (1952)* Five Science Fiction Novels, edited by Martin Greenberg (1952)* Sands of Mars, by Arthur C. Clarke (1952)* The Starmen, by Leigh Brackett (1952)* Foundation and Empire, by Isaac Asimov (1952)* Children of the Atom, by Wilmar H. Shiras (1953)* Space Lawyer, by Nat Schachner (1953)* Mutant, by Lewis Padgett (1953)* Shambleau and Others, by C.L. Moore (1953)* The Complete Book of Outer Space, edited by Jeffrey Logan (1953)* The Coming of Conan, by Robert E. Howard (1953)* King Conan, by Robert E. Howard (1953)* The Robot and the Man, edited by Martin Greenberg (1953)* Iceworld, by Hal Clement (1953)* Against the Fall of Night, by Arthur C. Clarke (1953)* Second Foundation, by Isaac Asimov (1953)* Conan the Barbarian, by Robert E. Howard (1954)* Undersea Quest, by Frederik Pohl and Jack Williamson (1954)* Mel Oliver and Space Rover on Mars, by William Morrison (1954)* Northwest of Earth, by C.L. Moore (1954)* The Forgotten Planet, by Murray Leinster (1954)* Lost Continents, by L. Sprague de Camp (1954)* Prelude to Space, by Arthur C. Clarke (1954)* Star Bridge, by Jack Williamson and James E. Gunn (1955)* Address: Centauri, by F.L. Wallace (1955)* Sargasso of Space, by Andrew North (1955)* Tales of Conan, by Robert E. Howard (1955)* This Fortress World, by James E. Gunn (1955)* All About the Future, edited by Martin Greenberg (1955)* Reprieve from Paradise, by H. Chandler Elliott (1955)* Science Fiction Terror Tales, edited by Groff Conklin (1955)* Highways in Hiding, by George O. Smith (1956)* Undersea Fleet, by Frederik Pohl and Jack Williamson (1956)* Plague Ship, by Andrew North (1956)* SF: The Year's Greatest Science Fiction and Fantasy, edited by Judith Merril (1956)* Interplanetary Hunter, by Arthur K. Barnes (1956)* The Shrouded Planet, by Robert Randall (pseudonym of Robert Silverberg and Randall Garrett) (1957)* The Return of Conan, by Bjorn Nyberg and L. Sprague de Camp (1957)* SF '57: The Year's Greatest Science Fiction and Fantasy, edited by Judith Merril (1957)* Colonial Survey, by Murray Leinster (1957)* Two Sought Adventure, by Fritz Leiber (1957)* Coming Attractions, edited by Martin Greenberg (1957)* They'd Rather Be Right, by Mark Clifton and Frank Riley (1957)* The Seedling Stars, by James Blish (1957)* Earthman's Burden, by Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson (1957)* Path of Unreason, by George O. Smith (1958)* Starman's Quest, by Robert Silverberg (1958)* Undersea City, by Frederik Pohl and Jack Williamson (1958)* Tros of Samothrace, by Talbot Mundy (1958)* SF '58: The Year's Greatest Science Fiction and Fantasy, edited by Judith Merril (1958)* Methuselah's Children, by Robert A. Heinlein (1958)* The Survivors, by Tom Godwin (1958)* The Bird of Time, by Wallace West (1959)* The Dawning Light, by Robert Randall (pseudonym of Robert Silverberg and Randall Garrett) (1959)* Purple Pirate, by Talbot Mundy (1959)* SF '59: The Year's Greatest Science Fiction and Fantasy, edited by Judith Merril (1958)* The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag, by Robert A. Heinlein (1959)* The Menace from Earth, by Robert A. Heinlein (1959)* The Vortex Blaster, by Edward E. Smith, Ph.D. (1960)* Agent of Vega, by James H. Schmitz (1960)* Drunkard's Walk, by Frederik Pohl (1960)* Invaders from the Infinite, by John W. Campbell, Jr. (1961)* Gray Lensman, by Edward E. Smith, Ph.D. (1951) (Note: Gnome Press reprinted this book directly from the Fantasy Press edition, including the "First Edition" statement, even though it is a reprint edition, making it one of the most notoriously tricky titles for collectors of science fiction first editions.)* The Philosophical Corps, by Everett B. Cole (1962) ====Footnotes====
 * the great Gnome Press science fiction Odyssey