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 Ian Allan Publishing'sShepperton building in 2008 | |
| Founded | 1942 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Ian Allan |
| Defunct | 2020 |
| Country of origin | England |
| Headquarters location | Shepperton |
| Publication types | Books |
| Nonfiction topics | Transport,freemasonry |
| Revenue | £631,000 (2020) |
| Official website | www.ianallanpublishing.com |
Ian Allan Publishing was an English publisher, established in 1942, which specialised intransport books.[1] It was founded byIan Allan.
In 1942, Ian Allan, then working in the public relations department for theSouthern Railway atWaterloo station, decided he could deal with many of the requests he received about rolling stock by collecting the information into a book.[2] The result was his first book,ABC of Southern Locomotives. This proved to be a success, contributing to the emergence oftrainspotting as a popular hobby in the UK, and leading to the formation of the company.[3][4]
The company grew from a small producer of books fortrain enthusiasts and spotters to a large transport publisher. Each year it published books covering subjects such asmilitary andcivil aviation,naval and maritime topics, buses, trams, trolleybuses and steam railways, including history, preservation and modern operations. The headquarters was at the western end ofShepperton railway station inSurrey.[3]
At the end of 2016, the company announced that it was withdrawing from railway publishing. Crécy Publishing acquired these titles, including the Oxford and ABC imprints.[5] It continued to operate bookshops until the last was closed in October 2020.[6]
Ian Allan Publishing acquired several companies andimprints.
Ian Allan Publishing's trade representation is provided by Amalgamated Book Services for its own imprints and a growing list of associated publishers. Midland Counties Publications, acquired by Ian Allan Publishing at the same time as Midland Publishing, was established in the 1970s with the objective of selling books at aviation events and by mail order to a growing number of enthusiasts who could not always find the publications they wanted to read on the shelves of their local bookshop.
In addition to the above, Ian Allan also owns the imprint Lewis Masonic. Lewis Masonic produces the ritual books used bylodges andchapters under theUnited Grand Lodge of England. Ian Allan Publishing also published an extensive catalogue of general Masonic publications, but from the 1990s these were also transferred to the Lewis Masonic imprint, alongside the ritual books.
The company formerly had stores atCardiff (closed 2015),[8]Manchester Piccadilly (closed 2016),Birmingham (closed 2019)[9] and London atLower Marsh (closed 2020).[6][10]
Ian Allan Publishing was well known for its range of enthusiast-basedmagazines, including the following titles:
A history of the company and of its publications down to 1967 appeared in the November 1967 edition of its magazineRailway World.
Those magazines still in print were acquired byKey Publishing in March 2012.[12][13]
Through the Lewis Masonic imprint, the company also published the quarterly masonic magazineThe Square, the longest running masonic periodical in the United Kingdom.
From 1962 to 2007, Ian Allan also published, jointly with theLight Rail Transit Association (LRTA), the monthly magazineModern Tramway, later asLight Rail and Modern Tramway and currently asTramways & Urban Transit (TAUT), and continues to handle printing and some distribution ofTAUT, as well as printing of the LRTA's quarterly historical journal,Tramway Review.[14]
The company was also responsible for producing a number of videos for sale in the shops on the themes of railway lines and military history, latterly under the name of Ian Allen SBS Video.[15] A number of the titles such asThen and Now[16] were picked up from the archive for broadcast onThat's TV in 2024.[17]