Pocket Books was the first mass paperback publisher founded in 1939 by Robert de Graff, who had left Simon & Schuster 18 months before to pursue this venture. He devised various promotional schemes including a small test printing of The Good Earth before he published a mixed bag of ten titles which were distributed only in New York. The test printing of The Good Earth is probably the most sought after and valuable paperback ever published.
Paperbacks had never been very successful because book stores would not carry them. The fledgling mass paperback industry got around that by distributing through magazine distributers so that paperbacks ended up in drugstores, newstands, bus stations and anywhere else magazines were found. So, bringing the books to the people at a 25¢ cover price was the formula for success.
Early covers mimicked hard cover dust jackets in design but with the influence (and competition) of Avon, Dell and Popular Library, soon changed to the more abstract style popular in the 40s and then the realistic style of the 50s. Pocket Books does not have a tradition of sexy GGA cover art or the sleazy style many collectors (including this one) love. Finding a cover to illustrate this page took some time and I finally decided that Pocket pioneered the 'Girl' titles, as in Burleque Girl, Swamp Girl, Shanty Girl, Backwoods Girl, Street Girl and many others. Seems like White Collar Girl fits right in.
