Each volume, excepting the 27th, in the series is 240 pages long, featuring many contemporary pictures and illustrations. They are bound in a padded imitation leather hardcover binding with the series name, title of the book, and publisher imprinted in gold on the spine of the book. The front cover of the book has a glued-on oval shaped picture, in most cases showcasing artwork by contemporary artists such as Frederic Remington (like the one in the infobox to the right) or Charles M. Russell– and who are otherwise heavily represented with their work on the interior pages of the series as well. Beneath the picture embossed in the faux leather is a set of cattle horns with a rising sun depicted between the horns. The outline of the cover is embossed with a rustic rope. The back cover is blank. The series was issued without a dust jacket. There are 27 volumes in the series, of which volume 27, the "Master Index", was executed as a stapled 65-page soft cover release, not featuring any illustrations:
Despite the golden age of the Western having already ended in the home market by the time the series was launched, it did manage to become one of the more popular Time Life book series, exemplified by the fact that the series remained in print for the better part of two decades. However, it was not the series as a whole that enjoyed reprint runs, but rather the individual volumes which were reprinted according to need as some titles were more appealing to the public than the others. For example, the most popular title, volume 8 –The Gunfighters– is known to have had at least ten printings, the last one in 2004.[1] Volume 15 –The Chroniclers– on the other hand, has only three printings known, the original printing, followed by reprints in 1979 and 1981.[2] It is, together with the Master Index, the least reprinted volume of the series, all the others having at least four printings.
International editions
Five of the more popular titles saw separate latter-day British first print versions in the UK as a standard (non-padded) hardcover in a dust jacket book format,[3] even though British customers could originally coach along with their US counterparts by ordering the US version of the series through their nearest Time Life Books subsidiary. These five UK-specific first editions of 2004/06, featuring British spelling, were published by the London-based Caxton Publishing Group under a full license from the European "Time-Life Books B.V." (the former "Time-Life International (Nederland) B.V." Amsterdam branch) as specified in the colophons of the UK volumes, which had managed to stay in business a few years longer after the American "Time Life Books, Inc." mother division had gone defunct in 2001 as a dedicated book publisher.[4]
As an American-specific topic, this series was not widely translated into other languages, but two identically executed foreign-language editions were nonetheless released by the "Time-Life International (Nederland) B.V." Amsterdam branch themselves; the 1978-1980 German-language Der Wilde Westen edition, which was shy of six volumes (seven when counting the "Master Index"),[5] and the 1978-1981 French-language Le Far West edition, equally shy of six (or seven) volumes.[6] That the series was partially translated into these two languages was not only due to the historical ties both France and Germany had with the era in question,[7] but also because the Western genre has never gone out of vogue in either country, particularly in Germany where the popularity of the genre has since the days of Karl May remained unabated, unlike in native USA. As with the American edition, several of the more popular volumes saw multiple reprint runs in West-Germany. Of the most popular one, volume 8 called "Die Revolverhelden" (="The Gunfighters"), is known that it has seen at least six German-language printings.[8]
Aside from these editions released by Time Life themselves, there were at least three additional, but far more obscure licensed international series editions known, all of them truncated; the oldest of these concerned the 1974-1975 YugoslavianResnična zgodovina Divjega zahoda ("The true history of the Wild West"), which was licensed to Slovenian publisher Cankarjeva Založba. Being the most obscure of the three, the extent of this slightly differently executed hardcover edition is therefore not known.[9] Like in France and Germany, the Western had been a popular genre in Yugoslavia, before the outbreak of the wars that spelt the end of that nation. A ten-volume Japanese-language Daiseibu monogatari ("Large Western Story") edition is known to have been released by Tokyo-based publisher Taimuraihubukkusu in 1976, identical in exterior to the American source publications, but with Japanese-language interior texts.[10] The third edition concerned the Swedish-language ten-volume Wild West release, published in 1984-85 by Swedish publisher Bokorama and likewise greatly resembling the American source publication.[11] As if to underscore the appeal of these two titles, "The Gunfighters" and "The Cowboys" are the only two volumes that saw printings in all six known international editions. "The Scouts" and the "Master Index" on the other hand, are the only two titles not to see a single foreign edition.
As in the UK, other language territory customers were offered the opportunity to acquire the original American version via mail through their nearest Time Life Books subsidiary, typically by series subscription.
↑ At the time of the series launch, ISBNs were not yet utilized. They only became commonplace during 1977, volume 20 becoming the first title provided with one upon its very first release. For the more popular older titles this meant they were only given one around their 5th-7th reprint runs. The colophons of these reprints incidentally, made it clear that a title was considered a revised (justified or not) edition when it was given its ISBN, with the original, non-ISBN endowed, printing becoming referred to by a much lower, retroactively assigned and concurrently "retired" ISBN – volume 02 for example was assigned the "retired ISBN0685288064". Additionally, it became customary for the Time-Life Books after 1976 to bestow each of the US first-print series volumes with two ISBNs (the second one usually eight numbers higher), with the lower number indicating the retail/Direct-to-Customer (DTC) copies whereas the higher ones indicate the library binding (lib. bdg.) copies as specified in the book colophons – which remained adhered to for later, with higher newly assigned ISBNs endowed true revised editions as well, if there were any. Listed are the most common, lower retail/DTC ISBNs.
↑ A library binding edition is known with the deviant lowerISBN0809423170, according to the colophon of the regular release.
Slipcase
When the series was launched the publisher tried to entice customers to take out a subscription by offering a promotional gold-imprinted hardboard slipcase which held the volumes The Ranchers, The Gunfighters and The Trailblazers. This slipcase is very hard to come by on current used-book markets, as it as a promotional gimmick had not been offered for regular sale by the company.
Excerpt
A 432-page abridged excerpt hardcover variant edition with dust jacket, its chapter organization roughly following the series topics, was published in October 1990 by educational publisher Prentice Hall as "The Old West" ( ISBN0136311512). Though licensed to Prentice Hall, the book sported the Time Life logo on its spine. Old West historian Robert M. Utley (who had not contributed to the main series) provided the foreword for the excerpt edition.
Home market reprints
Until the mid-1980s, reprints were reissued in the same format as the original printing. A few of the more popular volumes were later printed (usually after their 5th-7th printing) as more traditional hardcover editions, with new cover art and where the 1997/1999 reprints are concerned with dust jackets, but all of them dispensing with the padded faux leather cover.[12] Since only a handful of titles were reissued as such, they were hardly recognizable as series volumes, and could easily be considered/confused as standalone editions, especially because each of them was released irregularly. Additionally, these latter-day reprints were issued in comparatively small numbers, making them quite rare in comparison to the ubiquitous faux leather editions. Furthermore, many reprints were issued with new ISBNs, especially when it concerned a revised edition.
The following titles are known to have seen latter-day reprints in a different format,
The prolific reprint runs has made the series one of the more easily obtainable Time Life book series in the used-book market, the faux leather bound editions in particular.
Spin-offs
The success of the series has enticed Time-Life to delve somewhat deeper into the subject of the Old West with follow-up releases as companion series. The first of these concerned, Classics of the Old West (1980-84, 31 volumes, OCLC751388477), deluxe reproductions of memoirs written by Old West contemporaries and eyewitnesses, which was started right upon the conclusion of the main series. Most of these works had actually already been used as primary reference sources for quotation/citation purposes in the main series. To further reinforce the connection between the two series, it was decided to execute the Classics in the same vein as the main series as faux leather bound volumes with embossed Old West symbology on the padded hardcover, without a cover illustration, but gilt-edged to emphasize the deluxe visual appeal of the series. This was followed by the much smaller, but very similar, from the Native American side related Native American Voices series. As one of Time-Life Books' most obscure series releases, only six series volumes are known to have been released in the 1991-93 time period.[13] Time Life has repeated this formula fourfold more shortly afterwards, for their World War II, The Epic of Flight, The Civil War, and Mysteries of the Unknown series.
The second series was less heavy handed on the connections with the main series and concerned The American Indians (1992–96, 24 volumes, re-titled to The Native Americans for reprinted volumes[14]). The role of the Native Americans in the history of the Old West could not be covered as in-depth in the main series as their huge part in it warranted, due to the broad scope of the subject matter. The Time Life editors apparently felt likewise and decided to dedicate a separate series to the Native Americans, which not only covered their place in American history, but also paid ample attention to their culture. There was however one clear-cut connection; one volume, "Native Americans of the Old West" (1995, OCLC1051097745), was actually a reprint of volume 2 of the main series, "The Indians" (essentially constituting its 7th printing),[15] and was the only volume in the series to run for 240 pages instead of the standard 176 pages for the rest of the series, aside from lacking an ISBN as well.
Additionally, and beyond the aforementioned 1990 excerpt edition release, Time Life saw three further single titles releases dealing with the subject matter. Titles thus released concerned,
"The Wild West" (March 1993, 368 pages, ISBN0446517615); companion hardcover with dust jacket book to the hereafter mentioned television series and featuring a foreword by Old West historian Dee Brown; a deluxe embossed leather bound edition was also released prior to the retail version.[16]
"Settling the West" (December 1996, 192 pages, ISBN0783562527); hardcover with dust jacket, part of the six-volume mini-series The American Story, that dealt with selected highlights of US history
"The Wild West: True Tales And Amazing Legends" (August 2017, 96 pages, ISBN9781683309031); softcover magazine-style paperback release by latter-day iteration Time Inc. Books, the print subsidiary of the publisher's former owner, Time Warner, who confusingly utilized the book logo of its former possession.
Three topic related volumes were released in Time Life's own 1996-97 educational six-volume The American Story mini series, and concerned "Settling the West" (1996, ISBN0783562527, "Defiant Chiefs" (1997, ISBN0783562543), and "The First Settlers" (1997, ISBN0783562551). All six 192-page series volumes were authored by Sarah Brash and were specifically written for the older high-school youth and predominantly sold to (school) libraries.[17]
Apart from the book titles, Time-Life has under its own "Time Life Video" imprint co-released in 1994 the aforementioned 1993 documentary television mini-series The Wild West from Rattlesnake Productions.[18] as a 10-tape VHS set, featuring two episodes per tape. Warner Home Video was the co-producer of both the series proper as well as the derivative VHS set ( OCLC29342855). Time Life followed up with its own direct-to-DVD four-disc Cowboy country: the complete story of the wild west on DVD set in 2006.[19]
An ancient, precursory publication on the topic had been the 1963 plain hardcover volume from the early The LIFE History of the United States series, the by American historian Margaret L. Coit authored volume 4 ("The Sweep Westward, 1829-1849", OCLC5876270), endowed with a revised 1974 hardcover reprint edition, which was followed by a 1979 in faux burgundy red leatherette executed deluxe reprint edition ( OCLC3020923, 5472519 respectively).
Promotion
Prior to the late-1970s, Time-Life Books relied primarily on the traditional print advertisements for promoting their book series to the general public, and The Old West was therein no exception at first.[20] But as had become standard practice for Time-Life Books from the late-1970s through the 1990s, the series did become vigorously supported later on by a television ad campaign in the form of a series of commercials transmitted either in first-run syndication or during late-night television programming. Being considered the one that was most appealing to the imagination, it was "The Gunfighters" that was chosen by the publisher as the series show piece, featuring prominently in several contemporary television commercials, one of them presented by actor Jack Palance (known for his roles as Western "bad guy", most famously in Shane). This title was also usually selected as the premier title to be sent out to customers who were enticed to take out a series subscription.[21] The later The American Indians complementary series was supported by television commercials as well.[22]
The television ad campaigns were complementary to Time-Life's standard operating procedure of sending out elaborate multi-sheet direct promo mailings to their already existing customer base,[23] in which a series was introduced in detail to a potential subscriber; having taken out a subscription once, a customer was then registered in Time Life Books' customer database (professionalized in the early 1980s by among others Vice-President of Product Management Tom Corry [24]), at the time a crucial business model marketing tool for the company, making that customer eligible for receiving the company's mailings henceforth.[25]
As was customary for Time Life Books at the time, the first book ordered (typically volume 8 at first, but volume 11 was later offered as a starting volume as well) was sent on a ten-day trial basis at a reduced price, after which each bi-monthly next installment could be assessed by customers on the same basis. In addition, US customers who responded by telephone to the television ads were rewarded with a free gift which was a western-style belt buckle at first before it was abandoned. Regardless of how a subscription was taken out, all subscribers received two posters as a bonus gift with their first book which featured a stylized map of the Oregon Trail, and a reproduction of a period Buffalo Bill's Wild West show poster. In 1979, the subscription bonus gift was upgraded to a portfolio which contained six 7.9 by 10.2 inches (200mm ×260mm) plates, suitable for framing, and depicting items associated with the Wild West, to wit, shoulder arms, handguns, a train, a stagecoach, saddles and bits, and Native-American ceremonial and everyday artifacts, along with an accompanying letter from the publisher.[26] Customers were allowed to keep either bonus gift even if they decided to return the volume they came with.
A paperback book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardback (hardcover) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, leather, paper, or plastic.
A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback book is one bound with rigid protective covers. It has a flexible, sewn spine which allows the book to lie flat on a surface when opened. Modern hardcovers may have the pages glued onto the spine in much the same way as paperbacks. Following the ISBN sequence numbers, books of this type may be identified by the abbreviation Hbk.
The Monster Manual is the primary bestiary sourcebook for monsters in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, first published in 1977 by TSR. The Monster Manual was the first hardcover D&D book and includes monsters derived from mythology and folklore, as well as creatures created specifically for D&D. Creature descriptions include game-specific statistics, a brief description of its habits and habitats, and typically an image of the creature. Along with the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide, the Monster Manual is one of the three "core rulebooks" in most editions of the D&D game. As such, new editions of the Monster Manual have been released for each edition of D&D. Due to the level of detail and illustration included in the 1977 release, the book was cited as a pivotal example of a new style of wargame books. Future editions would draw on various sources and act as a compendium of published monsters.
The dust jacket of a book is the detachable outer cover, usually made of paper and printed with text and illustrations. This outer cover has folded flaps that hold it to the front and back book covers; these flaps may also double as bookmarks.
Everyman's Library is a series of reprints of classic literature, primarily from the Western canon. It began in 1906. It is currently published in hardback by Random House. It was originally an imprint of J. M. Dent, who continue to publish Everyman Paperbacks.
DC Archive Editions is a line of hardcovers that was published from 1989–2014, reprinting early, often rare comic book series, titles, and stories. They include more than 160 Golden Age and Silver Age comic properties currently owned by DC Comics, regardless of whether DC Comics was the original publisher. The series first published Superman Archives Vol. 1 in 1989. Most of the restoration work to make the pages suitable for quality printing has been done by Rick Keene, who has restored more than 2,500 pages.
Marvel Masterworks is an American collection of hardcover and trade paperback comic book reprints published by Marvel Comics, with the main goal of republishing classic Marvel Comics storylines in a hardcover, premium edition, often with restored artwork and better graphical quality when compared to other Marvel collected editions. The collection started in 1987, with volumes reprinting the issues of The Amazing Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, The X-Men, and The Avengers. The Masterworks line has expanded from such reprints of the 1960s period that fans and historians call the Silver Age of Comic Books to include the 1930s–1940s Golden Age; comics of Marvel's 1950s pre-Code forerunner, Atlas Comics; and even some reprints from the 1970s period called the Bronze Age of Comic Books.
Time Life, Inc. was an American multi-media conglomerate company formerly known as a prolific production/publishing company and direct marketeer seller of books, music, video/DVD, and other multimedia products. After all home market book publication activities had been shuttered in 2003, the focus of the group shifted towards music, video, and entertainment experiences – such as the StarVista cruises – exclusively. Its products have once been sold worldwide throughout the Americas, Europe, Australasia, and Asia via television, print, retail, the Internet, telemarketing, and direct sales. Activities were largely restricted to the North American home market afterwards, and operations were until recently focused on the US and Canada alone with very limited retail distribution overseas, ceasing all together in 2023.
Thraxas is a series of twelve fantasy novels written by British author Martin Millar under the pen name Martin Scott. The first eight were originally published in the United Kingdom by Orbit Books between April 1999 and May 2005. The remaining four titles were self-published by Millar, between March 2013 and April 2022. The series has been generally positively received, and has produced one World Fantasy Award winner.
Mysteries of the Unknown is a series of books about the paranormal, published on the North-American home market by Time-Life Books from 1987 through 1992. Each book focused on a different topic, such as ghosts, UFOs, psychic powers and dreams. Book titles included The UFO Phenomenon, Witches and Witchcraft, Hauntings, and more. According to the Linkedin page of Tom Corry, Time-Life's then-Vice President of Product Management (1984–90) and under whose auspices the series was launched, it was "the largest selling book series Time-Life ever produced."
The EC Archives are an ongoing series of American hardcover collections of full-color comic book reprints of EC Comics, published by Russ Cochran and Gemstone Publishing from 2006 to 2008, and then continued by Cochran and Grant Geissman's GC imprint (2011–2012), and finally taken over by Dark Horse in 2013.
How and Why Wonder Books were a series of American illustrated books published in the 1960s and 1970s that were designed to teach science and history to children and young teenagers. The series began in 1960 and was edited under the supervision of Paul E. Blackwood of the Office of Education at the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. The series was published by Wonder Books, Inc., a division of Grosset & Dunlap.
Variety Film Reviews is the 24-volume hardcover reprint of feature film reviews by the weekly entertainment tabloid-size magazine Variety from 1907 to 1996. Film reviews continued to be published in the weekly magazine after the reprints were discontinued.
The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library is a series of books collecting all of the comic book Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge stories written and drawn by Carl Barks, originally published between 1942 and Barks' retirement in June 1966. The series was launched in late 2011, and will comprise 6,000 plus pages over roughly 30 200- to 240-page volumes when it is finished.
The Third Reich is a series of books published by Time-Life Books that chronicles the rise and fall of Nazi Germany, relating historical events as experienced by the German side. The series began its release run on the home market from 1988 onward, followed a year later by a European dissemination release, typically by series subscription through the "Time-Life Books B.V." Amsterdam-branch subsidiary, among others in the UK. Each book focused on a different topic, such as the SS, Afrika Korps and various campaigns.
The Civil War book series chronicles in great detail the American Civil War. Published by Time-Life Books, the 28-volume series was sequentially released in the US and Canada between 1983 and 1987 as bi-monthly direct-to-consumer (DTC) installments to series subscribers. Some titles focused on a specific topic, such as the blockade, and spies, but most volumes concentrated on the battles and campaigns, presented in chronological order.
A. L. Burt was a US book publishing house from 1883 until 1937. It was founded by Albert Levi Burt, a 40-year-old from Massachusetts who had come to recognize the demand for inexpensive reference works while working as a traveling salesman. The company began by reprinting home reference works and reprints of popular and classic fiction, before expanding into the field of children's works, particularly series books.
Lucky Luke – The Complete Collection is a series of books collecting the complete output of the Belgian comic title Lucky Luke, a comic title that was first published and introduced in the Belgian magazine Spirou during the late 1940s, and later continuing in Pilote before finally switching back to Spirou and being collected in the album format. The comic title was created by Morris in 1949, and later also written by René Goscinny. The publisher behind this reprint book collection is Cinebook Ltd. The first volume of the series was released in June 2019.
The Photographic History of the Civil War In Ten Volumes: Thousands of Scenes Photographed 1861-65, with Text by many Special Authorities, as the full title reads, or The Photographic History of the Civil War for short, is a ten-tome compilation of war photography of the American Civil War of 1861–1865. Advance copies of individual volumes started being released sequentially from June 1911 onward for the semi-centennial of the beginning of the war, and finished up towards year's end, though the publisher had expressed the expectation to have had already finished up in mid-August 1911 in their accompanying letter to early customers who had taken out an advance subscription on the deluxe "Limited Edition" at reduced pre-retail release sales prices. Featuring a then-unprecedented total of 3,389 photographic images spread over 360 pages each measuring 7+1⁄4 in × 10 in, a hard copy of the collection weighs in at 42 lb (19 kg). The work is in the public domain and has since been digitized for use online. The lead editor was Francis Trevelyan Miller, who "conducted a nationwide hunt for old photos", though most of the actual legwork and discoveries made was done by his assistant Roy M. Mason, a recent Yale University graduate he had specifically hired for the chore, but did not bother to credit as such – though he was in the contents of each volume credited for the "Photograph Descriptions".
↑ France had partaken in the conquest of the Old West and Canada prior to the Louisiana Purchase, whereas 19th-century USA had seen a massive influx of German immigrants who left their noticeable mark in the history of the Old West – but which makes the absence of a Spanish language series edition all the more remarkable, considering the huge part the Spaniards/Mexicans played in the history of the Old West.
↑ Legg, Michael (23 June 2003). "The Old West". Leggman's Time-Life Library, a compendium of Time-Life Books information. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
↑ Legg, Michael (23 June 2003). "The American Indians". Leggman's Time-Life Library, a compendium of Time-Life Books information. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
↑ Martin, M. Leigh (July 2019). "The American Indians". SomethingUnderTheBed.com. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
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