The 1937 Vending Machine for Books

Sir Allen Lane was the Penguin Books Coal, which was attributed to the circulation of a regular cover on the collective market. The paper background was present before the penguins, but it was often poorly made or had a garbage theme. Lynn changed all of this: classic literature was published in the form of a regular cover and added legitimacy to the paper cover. He also presented them at a reasonable price (six pennies for each book at the launch, or the same package of cigarettes). according to An archived version of Penguin, everything came after Lynn visited Agatha Christie:

(H) He found himself on a platform at EXATER in search of a library for something he reads on his trip to London, but he only discovered the famous magazines and re -printed Victorian novels.
Lynn decided, horrific from the displayed choice, that the contemporary fantasy of good quality should allow an attractive price and sell it not only in traditional libraries, but also in railway stations, tobacco specialists and chain stores. “

One of the ways he brought soft books to non -written sites was “Penguincubator”, a selling machine for the disability he invented in 1937. (Maybe he has I got the idea From the German publisher Reclam, who first made books selling machines in 1910.) You can see a picture of the device here.

James Bridel writes In publishing views that the first penguin was outside Henderson – a library called “The Bomb Shop” because of the fact that it sold radical literature – in 66 Charing Cross Road. This “referred to his intention to take the book beyond the library and the traditional library office, to the railway stations, chain stores and on the streets.”

Unfortunately, the idea was not completely successful: as one seller Recount in British book trade: oral history“It was necessary to take it out and close at the front of the store every night, then it was brought every morning. And every morning, it seemed, there were letters of complaints under the door:” We put a shlan in this machine and no book came out of it. “It was a complete failure.”

Although Penguincubator is no longer present, you can find a pencil sale machine at the Exter -ST Davids Station in England, which was installed in 2023 in honor of Lynn’s search for a book there over those past years. according to Exter, “The machine has proven that it is a success with the local population and passengers alike, as they got millions of views thanks to a series of viral social media and the national press interest that praised his uniqueness.” In 2025, the machine will host “A collection of books of books from Penguin 90 years of success with Exter City of Literature that runs the stock of unique book distributor. Customers can expect to face a series of books of a character under the headline to celebrate the Xter place in the world as only one of 53 Greek literature engines.”

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