Anvil Books

From 58 BOOK BUYER’S GUIDE 130 (1955):

This month Van Nostrand will publish the first five titles in the Anvil Books Series, which will consist of original scholarly studies in paperback format, all written by distinguished authors well-known in their fields. The new titles, ready February 1, are: “Making of the Modern French Mind,” by Hans Kohn; “The American Revolution,” by Richard B. Morris; “The Late Victorians,” by Herman Ausubel; and “The World in the Twentieth Century," "Fifty Major Documents of the Twentieth Century,” and “The Age of Reason,” all three by Louis L. Snyder. The new volumes will be approximately 200 pages, 4¼ x 7⅛, and will sell for $1.25. Full trade discounts will apply.

Van Nostrand Launches New Paperbound Series, PW, Nov. 20, 1954, at 2066:

ANVIL BOOKS, a new series of paperbound originals in the fields of history and the social sciences, will be published in January by D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc. The line will be distributed in regular book trade channels at trade discounts and will be priced at $1.25. As general editor of the project, Professor Louis L. Snyder of the history department of the City College of New York has worked in close collaboration with editor Edward M. Crane, Jr.

“Beginning with a review of past British experience in providing the general public with readable versions of historic development, Professor Snyder next made a nationwide survey of college instructors on their particular needs,” the publisher reports. “Anvil Books gradually took shape, outstanding authorities in each subject received contracts and many more who had heard of this new series bombarded the general editor with requests to be included.”

The books will measure 4¼ inches by 7½ inches, will be perfect-bound with two-color stiff paper covers and will average about 200 pages in length. The January list will consist of “Making Of The Modern French Mind” by Hans Kohn, “The American Revolution” by Richard B. Morris, “The Late Victorians” by Herman Ausubel and Dr. Snyder's “The Age of Reason,” “The World In the 20th Century,” and “Fifty Major Documents of the Twentieth Century.”

Preliminary promotion plans for the new series include full page ads in trade and scholarly journals, Saturday Review, Foreign Affairs, and special mailings to trade and college bookstores, according to Dayton Beguelin, Van Nostrand’s trade promotion manager.

From back of #29, Historic Decisions of the Supreme Court:

ANVIL BOOKS, under the general editorship of Louis L. Snyder, make a unique and valuable contribution to the fields of history and the social sciences. In each title a distinguished scholar offers an original analysis of a major problem area, incorporating the most recent research. For ready reference to source materials, each book includes a selection of pertinent documents, many from neglected or hard-to-find sources.

Brief, handy, and readable, the series reverses the trend toward mammoth and expensive volumes. Each book is priced at only $1.25, and additional titles will be issued periodically. Watch for them at your nearest bookstore. A complete listing of the ANVIL BOOKS now available appears on the final page of this book.