Avon Books in Canada Part III

In part II I introduced a short-lived (1952-3) series of paperbacks from Avon Canada. Here's more about them.

The early numbers (at least to C762) in the series do not have a price on the covers. Later books have the price (35 cents) on both covers. All titles have “Printed in Canada” on the back cover and the copyright page. The Canadian subsidiary of American News Corporation (474 Wellington Street West in Toronto), the owner of Avon, is the distributor. The number on all books is on the top left front cover and lower spine.

Avon (Canadian printing) C788

(US printing number 467)

Avon (Canadian printing) C788 back

Avon (Canadian printing) C792

(US printing number 373)

Avon (Canadian printing) C792 back

Avon (Canadian printing) C798 - May 1953

(US printing number 504)

Avon (Canadian printing) C798 back

Avon Books in Canada Part II

Part I described the introduction of Avon paperbacks into Canada in late 1941. Here I'll skip ahead a decade to a short lived series of Avon titles that were renumbered for the Canadian market. 

There are 62 titles starting at C751 and ending at C812, 58 of which I have identified. Most have no print date but the few I've seen that do are spring 1953. I'm guessing the series ran from 1952 to 1953. They sold for 35 cents.

The US numbers range from 300 to 526. There are also four titles from Avon's Eton subsidiary in the series.

Here are a few examples.

Avon (Canadian printing) C757

(US printing number 366)

Avon (Canadian printing) C769

(US printing number 474)

Avon (Canadian printing) C775

(US printing number 481)

Avon (Canadian printing) C762

(US printing number 455)

Heed the Thunder

I haven't published a post about Toronto paperback publisher Export Publishing Enterprises in a while. But a couple of recent bookseller listings for one of Export's books has inspired.

Export's primary imprint was "News Stand Library". Between May 1948 and January 1951 Export published 159 News Stand titles. Number 54 is Jim Thompson's Heed the Thunder, his second book, originally published in 1946 (New York: Greenberg).

Thanks to Thompson's reputation the two listed copies are expensive - here at $500CAN (this bookseller happens to be a 5 minute drive from our house) and here at $442CAN. This is one of the few Export titles still in print and is abridged at 160 pages (the Amazon listed edition in print is 352 pages). 

In common with many of Export's books there are different states for the book. One has red brown inner covers and the other brown. Cover art by D. Rickard.

News Stand Library 54 June 1949