 | |
| Parent company | Whitman Brands |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1915 |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | Virginia Beach, Virginia |
| Key people | John Feigenbaum, CEO |
| Publication types | Books, coin folders, coin albums, games, postage stamp albums |
| Imprints | H. E. Harris & Co., Friedberg |
| No. of employees | 50 |
| Official website | whitman.com |
Whitman Publishing is an American book publishing company which started as a subsidiary of theWestern Printing & Lithographing Company ofRacine, Wisconsin. In about 1915, Western began printing and binding a line of juvenile books for the Hamming-Whitman Publishing Company of Chicago. A few years later Hamming-Whitman went bankrupt, and Western took over the company, found success in selling the inventory of low-cost juvenile books, and formed the Whitman Publishing Company.[1]
Whitman now primarily producescoin andstamp collecting books and materials. The company was owned by Anderson Press until October 2023 when it was sold to CDN Publishing, LLC, home of the Greysheet.[2] The combined companies now operate under the global brand name of Whitman Brands.[3]
From the early 1900s to the mid-1980s, Whitman was a popularchildren's book publisher. For decades it was a subsidiary ofWestern Publishing Company. In 1933 the company signed a licensing contract withWalt Disney to produce books based on Disney cartoon characters, such asMickey Mouse,Donald Duck, andGoofy.[4]
Books about film and television dog stars, includingRin-Tin-Tin[5] andStrongheart,[6] were published.
Whitman also publishedWhitman Authorized Editions with stories featuring fictionalized versions of popular actresses of the 1940s and, later, novels based upon popular television shows, such asCaptain Kangaroo,The Patty Duke Show, andThe Beverly Hillbillies.[4]
One of Whitman's most popular mystery series wasTrixie Belden. In 1977 they launched the Trixie Belden Fan Club, and issued a lower-priced paperback book format of the series. At the time some booksellers stated that the Trixie Belden books were more popular thanNancy Drew andThe Hardy Boys books.[7] Other children's book series wereMeg Duncan andPower BoysAdventure.[1]
Whitman published theBig Little Books and Better Little Books. The early Big Little Books had print runs of 250,000 to 350,000 for each title, with no reprints.[5]
They also published illustrated card games includingWar,Hearts,Fish,Old Maid, andCrazy Eights.[8]
By the mid-1930s Whitman began a line of "coin boards" that helped popularize the coin collecting hobby.A Handbook of United States Coins was first published in 1942. The first edition ofA Guide Book of United States Coins (the "Red Book") was published in 1946.[9]
This started an expanding line of books aimed atnumismatists. The line continued as Western was sold toMattel in 1982, then was spun off and renamed Golden Books Family Entertainment. The new company sold Whitman Coin Products and other adult lines toSt. Martin's Press. St. Martin's, in turn, sold Whitman Coin Products to theH. E. Harris company, another publisher that specialized in coin and postage stamp collecting materials. H. E. Harris was then renamed Whitman Publishing, which continues to produce primarily coin and postage stamp collecting books materials.[10]
The most successful title published by Whitman isA Guide Book of United States Coins. Popularly referred to as "The Red Book", the 2026 edition is the 79th annual in the series. Over 25 million copies have been sold since its first publication, with over 200,000 copies selling every year.[citation needed]
As of November 2023, Whitman Publishing is owned by CDN Publishing[2] and operates under the global brand name of Whitman Brands. As of 2025, Whitman was also publishing books on other topics in addition to the coin and postage stamp collecting materials and books.[11][12]
Whitman hosts the Whitman Coins & Collectibles Expo at theBaltimore Convention Center three times a year.[10]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
