Pennant

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In the early 1950’s, several factors collided to make difficult times for paperback houses. Costs began creeping up, and quite a few new competitors entered the scene. There was a “glut” of paperbacks on the market, and several publishers tried new marketing ideas or “borrowed” ideas from rivals.

Ian Ballantine left Bantam in 1952 to start the new paperback publishing company that would bear his name, and those left behind in management seemed to struggle for a time before coming into their own.

In 1953, the company began marketing a 25¢ book that was taller and thinner than the normal Bantams. In point of fact, they looked remarkably like New American Library’s Signet books. The Pennants boasted very good cover art, and like parent Bantam, there were a lot of westerns.  By 1955, the run was over and Bantam began printing the taller format under its own name.

There are a few gaps in Pennant’s numbering. The last book published was #79. There were 66 titles.

Updated October 2010