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Time Inc. Books Group Records

Call Number

MS 3009-RG 28

Date

1963-1988, 2015, inclusive

Creator

Time, inc.

Extent

27.75 Linear feet in 29 record cartons and 1 flat box

Language of Materials

The documents in the collection are in English.

Abstract

The Book Division formed out of the Life Book Division in 1961 and was later renamed Time-Life Books. While Time-Life Books was Time Inc.'s main imprint and book publishing department, Time Inc. owned several other book publishing, subscription, or direct marketing ventures and companies including Little, Brown and Company and the Book-of-the-Month Club prompting the creation of an executive oversight group. The Books Group Records include office files from the group vice president documenting major changes and decisions for all departments, offices, and subsidiaries within the Books Groups; records from the Books and Arts Associates; samples of series from Time-Life Records, later renamed Time-Life Music; files on the Iran Publishing Project; and files from the Time-Life Travel Club.

Historical Note

Books were published by the various magazines prior to the formation of the Books division. According to The World of Time Inc.: The Intimate History of a Changing Enterprise, 1960-1980, Life's book projects were the most successful, and the Life books division is what became the separate Book Division in 1961.

The Book Division formed with Jerome Hardy as publisher and Norman Ross as editor. Time Inc. announced this new division in a January 9, 1961 press release stating it already had fourteen books projects underway. The group is called the Book Division until Time Inc. names it Time-Life Books in the 1963 corporate annual report. There was never an official announcement of the name change. The group was still referred to as the books division (in lowercase) interchangeably with Time-Life Books.

In 1968 an executive oversight group called "Books, Arts and Recordings" was created led by vice presidents Rhett Austell and Charles Bear. According to an August 1968 staff memorandum, the group's primary function was to coordinate the activities of the Book Division with the related activities of the book publishing subsidiaries Little, Brown and Company and New York Graphic Society; and to work with executives from partially-owned subsidiary General Learning Corporation and the foreign publishers in which Time Inc. owned minority interests.

The 1969 annual report has the first mention of the Books and Arts Associates (BAA), a new advisory management group for book publishing foreign investments. Austell is now the executive vice president overseeing Books, Broadcast, Films, Records, and the BAA. The BAA also briefly oversaw the domestic publishing subsidiaries Little, Brown and Company and the New York Graphic Society. By 1975 BAA's oversight diminished, and its responsibilities were slowly taken over by the Books Group executive office.

In 1989 a new unit called Books Direct formed and included Time-Life Books and the subsidiary Book-of-the-Month Club. A press release announcing this new unit describes Time-Life Books as the "Largest direct marketer of continuity book, music and video products." In 1990 Time-Life Books was renamed Time Life Inc.

According to the 1974 annual report, Time-Life Books primarily published book series on broad topics and marketed them by direct mail. It occasionally published single-subject volumes. Internationally Time-Life books were printed in 26 languages.

DEPARTMENTS AND SUBSIDIARIES

While Time-Life Books was Time Inc.'s main publishing unit, the Books Group oversaw several other book publishing, subscription, or direct marketing ventures and companies acquired by Time Inc. The major subsidiaries were the textbook publisher Silver Burdett, acquired in 1962; the Boston-based publishing house Little, Brown and Company acquired in 1968; and the Book-of-the-Month Club officially acquired in 1977 although it worked with Time-Life Books prior to that. In November 1965, Time Inc. and General Electric (GE) create the General Learning Corporation (GLC) consisting of Silver Burdett and capital from GE. Scott Foresman and Company purchased GLC in July 1974.

Other ventures and subsidiaries include:

Time-Life Libraries (originally called The Span of Time) which formed in July 1965 to handle door-to-door sales of Time-Life books. It was also briefly known as the Time-Life Book Program. It took over telephone sales from Time Telemarketing in 1975.

Time-Life Audio, a department formed in 1970 to "produce information and entertainment on audio cassettes for the home" as a subscription service. The first program is "The Executive Voice," produced with the editors of Fortune featuring interviews with business executives about their products and services featured in the news.

Time-Life Records, a subscription service for music series, later known as Time-Life Music.

Seven Arts and Book Find Club, which were book clubs purchased together in 1969 and merged. The name changed to Time Inc. Book Clubs in 1971, and the company dissolved in 1975.

New York Graphic Society (NYGS), publisher of fine art reproductions founded in 1925 by artist Anton Schutz and acquired by Time Inc. in 1966. NYGS owned Alva Museum Replicas and later Museum Collections, Inc. Both were companies that produced art object replicas for retail sale. Little, Brown took over operations of NYGS in 1974. Time Inc. sold NYGS in 1981.

Haverhill, direct marketing firm of high-price gift items, owned by Time Inc. from 1971 to 1975.

Oxmoor House was the direct marketing books subsidiary of Southern Progress Corporation, a company acquired by Time Inc. in 1985.

Citations:

"Heinrich Schutz, 79, Art Dealer and Editor." New York Times, February 23, 2002.

Time Inc. Annual Reports, MS 3009-RG 31, New-York Historical Society.

Time Inc. Reference Files, MS 3009-RG 3, New-York Historical Society.

Time Inc. Subject Files, MS 3009-RG 1, New-York Historical Society.

Arrangement

Organized into five series:

Series I. Group Vice President Files

Series II. Books and Arts Associates Records

Series III. Time-Life Records / Time-Life Music Series

Series IV. Iran Publishing Project Files

Series V. Time-Life Travel Club Records

Scope and Contents

The Books Group Records include office files from the executive level the group vice president documenting oversight of and major changes and decisions for all departments, offices, and subsidiaries within the Books Groups; newsletters and financial records from the Books and Arts Associates, the group created to monitor investments in foreign publishing companies; samples of the series sent out by the music subscription service Time-Life Records, later renamed Time-Life Music; files on the special project undertaken by Time Inc. to assist in the set up of a educational publisher in Iran; and files from the short-lived club offering travel services.

Access Restrictions

Open to qualified researchers with the exception of restricted materials. Restricted materials may include contracts, personnel files, and correspondence with personally identifying information. Restricted materials are located in box R64. Unreformatted audiovisual material and digital material in the collection is not accessible. Materials are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use.

Use Restrictions

This collection is owned by the New-York Historical Society. The copyright law of the United States governs the making of photocopies and protects unpublished materials as well as published materials. Unpublished materials created before January 1, 1978 cannot be quoted in publication without permission of the copyright holder. Photocopying undertaken by staff only. Limited to 20 exposures of stable, unbound material per day.

Preferred Citation

The collection should be cited as: Time Inc. Books Group Records, MS 3009-RG 28, The New-York Historical Society.

Location of Materials

Materials in this collection are stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Time Inc. in 2015.

Related Materials

This finding aid relates to just one record group of the Time Inc. Records. For information about the other record groups and for overall information about the archives, please see the Guide to the Time Inc. Records (MS 3009). The Henry Luce Papers (MS 3014) were acquired with the Time Inc. Records. The collection of books acquired with the records are cataloged as the Time Inc. Reference Library. Additional records about the history of the Books Group and its subsidiaries can be found in the Time Inc. Subject Files (MS 3009-RG 1) and the Time Inc. Reference Files (MS 3009-RG 3). The Time Inc. Video Group Records (MS 3009-RG 41) may also have materials related to books collaborated on by the two groups.

Collection processed by

Holly Deakyne and Samantha Brown

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:49:05 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Description is in English

Processing Information

The Group Vice President Files were processed by Holly Deakyne in 2019. When present and in fair condition, the original folders were retained. Documents were transferred to archival containers in cases of overcrowding, if original folders were damaged, or when in binders. Branded binders were separated from the binder contents for housing purposes; generic binders were not retained. Files retained their original titles, but files with illegible writing or unclear titles were either assigned new titles or had information added to them to clarify the contents. Series were created based on the original arrangement of the materials. Order within the subseries was imposed. Deakyne created the inventory and other descriptive notes for this series.

The Books and Arts Associates Records were processed by Samantha Brown in 2017. The original folders were retained although some documents were transferred to archival containers in instances of overcrowding. Brown created the inventory and other descriptive notes for this series. An additional box of similar material found was incorporated by Deakyne in 2018. Empty folders found in the first box processed were discarded when materials matching the titles were discovered in the additional box.

Time-Life Records / Time-Life Music Series was processed by Deakyne in 2019. The majority of material was originally unfoldered, but grouped by music series. Order was imposed, and titles given are the music series titles. Deakyne created the inventory and other descriptive notes for this series.

The Iran Publishing Project Files were processed by Deakyne in 2019. When present and in fair condition, the original folders were retained. Documents were transferred to archival containers in cases of overcrowding or if original folders were damaged. Files retained their original titles, but files with illegible writing or unclear titles were either assigned new titles or had information added to them to clarify the contents. Order was imposed. Deakyne created the inventory and other descriptive notes for this series.

The Time-Life Travel Club Records were processed by Deakyne in 2019. When present and in fair condition, the original folders were retained. Documents were transferred to archival containers in cases of overcrowding, if original folders were damaged, or when in binders. Generic binders were not retained. Files retained their original titles, but files with illegible writing or unclear titles were either assigned new titles or had information added to them to clarify the contents. Series were created based on the original arrangement of the materials. Order within the subseries was imposed. Deakyne created the inventory and other descriptive notes for this series.

Repository

New-York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024