Monday, 4 August 2025

Retitled Harlequins Part VIII

Between 1949 and 1959 Toronto mass market paperback publisher Harlequin published 455 titles that are new editions of books published earlier. Here I listed the 89 for which Harlequin retitled their edition. 

Here are two publishers with three retitled Harlequins each. The E. V. Timms titles are from Angus & Robertson, an Australian publisher. The Raymond Marshall (pseudonym of James Hadley Chase) titles are from British publisher Jarrolds. Harlequin also published 13 Jarrolds and one Angus & Robertson with the title unchanged. Original title is in square brackets.

  • Timms, E.V. The Violent Years [Forever to Remain]
  • Timms, E.V. Convict Town [The Beckoning Shore]
  • Timms, E.V. Woman in Chains [The Pathway of the Sun]
  • Marshall, Raymond The Pick-Up [But a Short Time To Live]
  • Marshall, Raymond Ruthless [Trusted Like the Fox]
  • Marshall, Raymond Never Trust A Woman  [In a Vain Shadow]

Harlequin 290 April 1954

Harlequin 330 March 1955

Harlequin 331 March 1955

Harlequin 340 July 1955

Harlequin 341 July 1955

Harlequin 382 March 1957

Friday, 1 August 2025

Retitled Harlequins Part VII

 Between 1949 and 1959 Toronto mass market paperback publisher Harlequin published 455 titles that are new editions of books published earlier. Here I listed the 89 for which Harlequin retitled their edition. 

There are seven retitled books from Phoenix Press, a New York publisher from 1936-52. Harlequin also published 21 Phoenix Press books with the title unchanged. Original title is in square brackets.

  • Stone, Thomas Doctor By Day [Doctor Tony]
  • Westland, Lynn Trail Rider [Over the Frontier Trail]
  • Ernenwein, Leslie Savage Justice [Boss of Panamint]
  • Shott, Abel Triggerman [The Renegade Kid]
  • Hopson, William Gunthrower [Gun-thrower]
  • Westland, Lynn Legion Of The Lawless [Texas Red]
  • Cody, Al         Lost Valley [Guns of Lost Valley]
Harlequin 142 November 1951

Harlequin 146 December 1951

Harlequin 171 May1952

Harlequin 194  November 1952

Harlequin 236  July1953

Harlequin 248 September 1953

Harlequin 274 February 1954

Tuesday, 22 July 2025

Retitled Harlequins Part VI

Between 1949 and 1959 Toronto mass market paperback publisher Harlequin published 455 titles that are new editions of books published earlier. Here I listed the 89 for which Harlequin retitled their edition. 

There are five retitled books from Mystery House, a short-lived (1940-48) imprint of New York publisher Arcadia House. Harlequin also published nine Mystery House books with the title unchanged. Original title is in square brackets.

  • Evans, John Weep Not Fair Lady [If You Have Tears]
  • Jerome, Owen Fox A Night At Club Bagdad [The Corpse Awaits]
  • Bogart, William Johnny Saxon [Murder is Forgetful]
  • Roeburt, John Manhattan Underworld [There are Dead Men in Manhattan]
  • Kane, Frank Death About Face [About Face]
Harlequin 49 May 1950

Harlequin 77 September 1950

Harlequin 114 May 1951

Harlequin 115 April 1951

Harlequin 126 August 1951

Marshall McLuhan Part III

"It is observable that the more illusion and falsehood needed to maintain any given state of affairs, the more tyranny is needed to maintain the illusion and falsehood. Today the tyrant rules not by club or fist, but, disguised as a market researcher, he shepherds his flocks in the ways of utility and comfort." 

                                            The Mechanical Bride (Preface), 1951

The Mechanical Bride, McLuhan's first book, is a collection of 59 short (most one or two pages) essays about mid century US media, advertising and culture. It is a book that has aged well and a great read. The topic of six of the essays is comic strips - Blondie, Tarzan, Superman, Li'l Abner, Little Orphan Annie and Bringing Up Father. I imagine that McLuhan enjoyed the Star Weekly Comic section in every Saturday Toronto Star where all of these strips could be found in the 1950s.

Here are the 21 strips in the February 12, 1955 Star Weekly Comic section.

  • Abbie an' Slats
  • Blondie
  • Bringing Up Father
  • Dick Tracy
  • Ella Cinders
  • Flash Gordon
  • Hopalong Cassidy
  • Jane Arden
  • Li'l Abner
  • Little Orphan Annie
  • Mandrake the Magician
  • Moon Mullins
  • Napoleon
  • Popeye
  • Snookums
  • Steve Canyon
  • Superman
  • Tarzan
  • Terry and the Pirates
  • The Captain and the Kids
  • The Lone Ranger


Relaxing at the end of a hard day with a beer and a copy of the Toronto Star. Undated photograph (1970s)

Beacon Press BP 265 1967

Tarzan - Star Weekly February 12, 1955

Blondie - Star Weekly February 12, 1955

Bringing Up Father - Star Weekly February 12, 1955

Li'l Abner - Star Weekly February 12, 1955

Little Orphan Annie - Star Weekly February 12, 1955

Superman - Star Weekly February 12, 1955

Friday, 18 July 2025

Retitled Harlequins Part V

Between 1949 and 1959 Toronto mass market paperback publisher Harlequin published 455 titles that are new editions of books published earlier. Here I listed the 89 for which Harlequin retitled their edition. 

There are five retitled books from Dodge, a short-lived (1937-42) New York publisher. Harlequin also published two Dodge books with the title unchanged. Original title is in square brackets.

  • Grinstead, J.E. Maverick Guns [Guardians of the Range]
  • Cole, Jackson Black Rider [Six-Gun Stampede]
  • Garth, Will  Masked Rider [Lawless Guns]
  • McCulley, Johnston The Outlaw Trail [Reckless Range]
  • Grinstead, J.E. Range King [King of the Rangeland]

Harlequin 75 September 1950

Harlequin 100 February 1951

Harlequin 220 March 1953

Harlequin 260 November 1953

Harlequin 411 January 1958

Tuesday, 15 July 2025

Collins White Circle Pocket Edition Original Publishers Part III

 Part I lists all the original publishers for the White Circle Pocket Edition (1942-1952) mass market paperback imprint of the Toronto based subsidiary of Scottish/British publisher Wm. Collins. There are 28 publishers with one title.

Here are five more of the publishers with a single White Circle.

Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town by Stephen Leacock first published in 1912 (London: John Lane)

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1883 (London: Cassell)

Black Jade by Angeline Taylor in 1947 (New York: Robert M. McBride)

Without Armour by James Hilton in 1933 (London: Ernest Benn)

Turvey by Earle Birney in 1949 (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart)

White Circle Pocket Edition 39 1942

White Circle Pocket Edition 223 1945

White Circle Pocket Edition 50 1942

White Circle Pocket Edition CD357 1948

White Circle Pocket Edition CD404 1949

White Circle Pocket Edition CD534 1952

Monday, 14 July 2025

Collins White Circle Pocket Edition Original Publishers Part II

Part I lists all the original publishers for the White Circle Pocket Edition (1942-1952) mass market paperback imprint of the Toronto based subsidiary of Scottish/British publisher Wm. Collins. Titles from the parent company dominate (323 of 416) with the second, Duell, Sloan and Pearce, far behind with 18. Here are six from that long gone New York publisher.

Born in Paradise by Armine von Temski first published in 1940 

How to Grow Old Disgracefully by Norman Anthony in 1946 

Trouble in July by Erskine Caldwell in 1940 

Everybody Slept Here by Elliott Arnold in 1948 

Thomas Forty by Edward Stanley in 1947 

Vigilante by Richard Summers in 1949 

White Circle Pocket Edition 296 1947

White Circle Pocket Edition 331 1947

White Circle Pocket Edition 335 1948

White Circle Pocket Edition CD379 1949

White Circle Pocket Edition  CD400 1949

White Circle Pocket Edition CD466 1950

Sunday, 13 July 2025

Collins White Circle Pocket Edition Original Publishers Part I

The Toronto based subsidiary of Scottish/British publisher Wm. Collins published 429 titles in a numbered mass market imprint from 1942 to 1952. Only nine of the White Circle Pocket Edition titles are paperback originals with the remainder new editions of previously published books. I have identified the original publisher for 416 of those books. There are 45 publishers with two accounting for 82%. The full list - 

  • Wm. Collins             323 
  • Duell, Sloan and Pearce    18 
  • Michael Joseph                  8 
  • Prentice-Hall                5 
  • Wm. Collins Canada        5 
  • J.B. Lippincott                4 
  • William Morrow                4 
  • Charles Scribner's        3 
  • Eyre & Spottiswoode        3 
  • Arcadia House                2 
  • Arthur Barker                2 
  • Dodd, Mead                2 
  • E. P. Dutton                2 
  • Julian Messner                2 
  • Macrae Smith                2 
  • Random House                2 
  • Appleton-Century-Croft      1
  • Blakiston Company, The     1 
  • Casell                        1 
  • Charles L. Webster        1 
  • Coward-McCann                1 
  • David McKay                1 
  • Ernest Benn                1 
  • Farrar, Straus                1 
  • Fleming H. Revell        1 
  • G. P. Putnam's                1 
  • Gazette Printing                1 
  • George J. McLeod        1 
  • Greenberg                        1 
  • Harper & Brothers        1 
  • Houghton Mifflin                1 
  • J.H. Sears                        1 
  • John Lane                        1 
  • Little, Brown                1 
  • Macaulay                        1 
  • McClelland & Stewart         1 
  • McGraw-Hill                1 
  • Phoenix Press                1 
  • Robert M. McBride        1 
  • Simon and Schuster          1          
  • Standard, The                1 
  • Sun Dial Press, The        1 
  • Thornton Butterworth        1 
  • Vanguard Press                1 
  • William Heinemann        1 
Here is the single book from five of the publishers.

Death and the Dancing Footman by Ngaio Marsh first published in 1941 (Boston: Little, Brown)

Shabby Tiger by Howard Spring in 1935 (New York: Sun Dial Press)

Favourite Wife by May Edginton in 1936 (New York: Macaulay)

El Caid by Clare Sheridan in 1931 (London: Thornton Butterworth)

The Horncasters by Victor H. Johnson in 1947 (New York: Greenberg)

White Circle Pocket Edition 76 1943

White Circle Pocket Edition 230 1945

White Circle Pocket Edition 327 1947

White Circle Pocket Edition 290 1946

White Circle Pocket Edition 332 1947

White Circle Pocket Edition CD427 1950

Collins White Circle Retitled Books Part III

Wm Collins Sons & Co. Canada Ltd (Toronto) published 429 titles in their White Circle Pocket Edition paperback reprint line from 1942 until 1952. All but nine are new editions of previously published books but Collins never included the original publication information and for sixteen books titles were changed. Part I lists nine books for which I was missing the first edition information because the title was changed. Since then I have tracked down five, leaving four unknown. Here I'll bring the list up to date.

The Dangerous Age first published as One Room for His Highness by Maysie Greig in 1947 (Glasgow, London: Wm. Collins)

Only To Ask as The Young Invader by Anne Maybury in 1947 (Glasgow, London: Wm. Collins)

Lawless Range as Just Dusty by Ranger Lee in 1947 (Glasgow, London: Wm. Collins)

Winter Week-End as The Girl From Switzerland by Renee Shann in 1947 (Glasgow, London: Wm. Collins)

Breath of Desire as The Winds of Spring by Anne Maybury in 1948 (Glasgow, London: Wm. Collins)

Still unknown:

Stephanie by Pamela Wynne

Florida Night by Jennifer Ames 

Guns on the Copper Trail by Gary Marshall 

Blood on the Sage by Chester Wills 

White Circle Pocket Edition 321 - 1947

White Circle Pocket Edition 366 - 1948

White Circle Pocket Edition 428 - 1949

White Circle Pocket Edition 393 - 1949