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Paperbacks! Trivia Quiz

Iv'e collected paperbacks from the 40s and 50s for quite a while. Now I'm going to put my knowledge into this quiz.

A multiple-choice quiz by tjoebigham. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
tjoebigham

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
27,100

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
15

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
7 / 15

Plays
947

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 15

1. What animal symbol here is the odd one out? (A bit tricky, this question; just remember the quiz's theme!) Hint

penguin

kangaroo

rooster

kiwi

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Question 2 of 15

2. Who founded Pocket Books? Hint

Aldus Mantius

Robert DeGraff

Bennett Cerf

Rupert Murdock

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Question 3 of 15

3. Who founded Penguin? Hint

Bill Gates

Hugh Hefner

Sir Allen Lane

Norman Vincent Peale

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Question 4 of 15

4. Which novel in its paperback edition had a view of a house through a knothole in a fence? Hint

God's Little Acre

The Shepard Of The Hills

Winesburg,Ohio

Tom Sawyer

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Question 5 of 15

5. Which paperback company printed a map of the scene of the crime on their mystery books? Hint

Fawcett

Graphic

Cardinal

Dell

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Question 6 of 15

6. Which paperbacks had a pine tree for a logo? Hint

Popular Library

Spruce Press

Conifer Books

Maine Books

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Question 7 of 15

7. Which publisher's brand name was inspired by a great English playright?

Answer: (One Word)

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Question 8 of 15

8. Name the hard-boiled detective novel that was one of the first million-dollar paperback bestsellers. Hint

The Glass Key

I, The Jury

The Big Sleep

Halo In Blood

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Question 9 of 15

9. Who published Gold Medal Books? Hint

Signet

Gol Medal Press

Fawcett

NAL

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Question 10 of 15

10. Which cover artist was known for big-breasted women? Hint

Alberto Vargas

Earle Bergey

Gil Elvgren

Robert McGinnis

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Question 11 of 15

11. Name the artist whose covers graced those of Signet. Hint

Rolf Armstrong

James Avati

James Bama

Will Eisner

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Question 12 of 15

12. Which author was first to be published in Bantam? Hint

Stephen Crane

Mark Twain

Herman Melville

George Ade

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Question 13 of 15

13. What feature distinguished Avon books for a time in the 60's? Hint

They were printed in colored ink

They had dust jackets

Their upper and lower right corners were rounded

They came in Braille editions

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Question 14 of 15

14. What novel became the first Pocket Book? Hint

The Maltese Falcon

Goodbye, Mr. Chips

Lost Horizon

They Shoot Horses,Don't They?

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Question 15 of 15

15. Which of these authors did not get published in the early paperbacks? Hint

Dashiell Hammett

J. D. Salinger

Raymond Chandler

Stephen King

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What animal symbol here is the odd one out? (A bit tricky, this question; just remember the quiz's theme!)

Answer: kiwi

You may think it's the kangaroo, since the others are birds, but we're talking about paperback logos! The kiwi is the odd one out, since it symbolizes shoe polish! The others are paperbacks symbols: the penguin of Penguin Books, the rooster of Bantam Books and, of course, the kangaroo of Pocket Books!

2. Who founded Pocket Books?

Answer: Robert DeGraff

In 1939, DeGraff published the first American paperbacks, Pocket Books. (The kangaroo or wallaby symbolizes the name and portabilty of the line and was named 'Gertrude' for the first designer's mother-in-law!)

3. Who founded Penguin?

Answer: Sir Allen Lane

Five years before DeGraff, Lane brought out Penguin Books. The penguin was chosen as the logo because of its air of 'dignified flippancy'.

4. Which novel in its paperback edition had a view of a house through a knothole in a fence?

Answer: God's Little Acre

Robert Jonas created the notorious cover for Eskine Caldwell's once scandalous bestseller and spawned a craze for 'peepholes'.

5. Which paperback company printed a map of the scene of the crime on their mystery books?

Answer: Dell

The Dell 'mapbacks' of the 40s are popular today.

6. Which paperbacks had a pine tree for a logo?

Answer: Popular Library

Popular was also popular in its day.

7. Which publisher's brand name was inspired by a great English playright?

Answer: Avon

Avon bore the head of the great Shakespeare on their early editions.(the Avon was the river Will grew up by in Strafford-on-Avon.)Shakespeare, of course, was known as the Bard of Avon.

8. Name the hard-boiled detective novel that was one of the first million-dollar paperback bestsellers.

Answer: I, The Jury

Mickey Spillane's debut novel made a 50's icon of Mike Hammer and defined the private-eye genre for decades to come.

9. Who published Gold Medal Books?

Answer: Fawcett

Fawcett's popular line showcased John D. MacDonald and Jim Thompson, among others.

10. Which cover artist was known for big-breasted women?

Answer: Earle Bergey

Bergey's best known covers are 'The Private Life Of Helen Of Troy' and 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'.

11. Name the artist whose covers graced those of Signet.

Answer: James Avati

Avati's realistic covers are synonymous with Signet's early books.

12. Which author was first to be published in Bantam?

Answer: Mark Twain

It was Twain's 'Life On The Mississippi' that became the first Bantam paperback.

13. What feature distinguished Avon books for a time in the 60's?

Answer: Their upper and lower right corners were rounded

This feature only lasted a few years, though.

14. What novel became the first Pocket Book?

Answer: Lost Horizon

A perennial bestseller for Pocket Books, James Hilton's fantasy also became a Frank Capra movie in the 30's.

15. Which of these authors did not get published in the early paperbacks?

Answer: Stephen King

OK, King was a no-brainer!

Source: Author tjoebigham

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Leau before going online.
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