Sales Gimmicks at Monarch

Monarch Books (New York) is a favorite publisher among vintage paperback collectors. Many of the books had sexy themes and sexy covers, and there were several paperback originals from important authors. But they used certain copywriting techniques on their covers to increase sales that weren't generally used at other publishing houses.

The first was the use of term "First Publication Anywhere," such as on Monarch 168 and Monarch 444, seen here. The first was printed in 1960, the second in 1964. Despite changing the cover to incorporate the new colophon and price increase from 35¢ to 40¢, they obviously felt somehow justified in retaining the boast that it was the first appearance of the work. This happened often in the Monarch run. Collectors beware!