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| Founded | September 1882 |
|---|---|
| Founder | David McKay |
| Defunct | 1986 (assets now owned byPenguin Random House) |
| Successor | Random House |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | Philadelphia,Pennsylvania |
David McKay Publications (also known asDavid McKay Company) was an American bookpublisher which also published some of the firstcomic books, including the long-running titlesAce Comics,King Comics, andMagic Comics; as well as collections of such popularcomic strips asBlondie,Dick Tracy, andMandrake the Magician.[1] McKay was also the publisher of theFodor's travel guides.
David McKay was born inDysart, Scotland, on June 24, 1860. At the age of 11, he came to the United States with his parents. At the age of 13, he began working forJ. B. Lippincott & Co., learning the bookselling trade. By the age of 21, he was placed in charge of the miscellaneous catalog of books by publisherRees Welsh. One year later, upon hearing McKay had been offered a position with a rival publisher, Welsh asked McKay to take the helm, offering to sell the entire publishing firm to him. In September 1882, with $500 of his own money and $2,500 in borrowed money and notes, McKay began his own publishing company on South 9th Street inPhiladelphia.
At age 25, McKay published the first collected set ofShakespeare’s works in the United States. By December 1905, McKay had absorbed many rival publishing houses into his own, and was publishing books in almost every popular genre of the time, including world literature, textbooks, and a number of children's books.
In 1935, the company recognized the potential of the comic book medium and began selling collections of such popular strips asHenry andPopeye. In 1936 they began publishing collections ofKing Features Syndicate strips inKing Comics, and in 1937 followed with theAce Comics title.[1]Ace Comics #11, the first appearance ofThe Phantom, is regarded by many to be a key issue in the history of comics, as it introduced one of the first of the costumed heroes, leading to theGolden Age of superheroes in comics.
McKay's sonAlexander would follow in his father's shoes by taking over the house to go on to publishWalt Disney’s firstMickey Mouse comics, theBlondie and Dagwood comic series, and numerous other notable works. David McKay Publications essentially ceased publishing comics in 1950.
In 1950, David McKay was acquired by two executives fromPutnam.[2] In 1961, McKay acquired the American operations ofLongmans, Green & Co. In 1968, McKay acquired the children's publishing company Ives Washburn.[3] In 1973, David McKay Publications purchased Henry Z. Walck Publications, a publisher of scholarly and children's books, and Charterhouse Books, which it had launched two years earlier in partnership withRichard Kluger.[4][5] Other imprints acquired included Weybright & Talley andPeter H. Wyden. In 1968, David McKay Publications was bought byMaxwell M. Geffen. At the end of 1973, David McKay Publications was acquired by the British magazine publisher Morgan Grampian, in which Geffen had an interest.[6]
Random House purchased David McKay Publications in 1986.[7]
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