Hamlyn is a UK publishing company founded by Paul Hamlyn in 1950 with an initial investment of £350. His desire was to create "fine books with the common touch" which remains the foundation of its commercial success. It is part of the Octopus Publishing Group, now owned by

Hachette Livre Hachette () is a French publisher. Founded in 1826 by Louis Hachette as Brédif, the company later became L. Hachette et Compagnie, Librairie Hachette, Hachette SA and Hachette Livre in France. After acquiring an Australian publisher, Hachette ...

History

Paul Hamlyn sold the company to the International Publishing Company (now Time Inc. UK) in 1964, but stayed on until 1969. In 1964 Hamlyn commenced in Australia under the management of

Kevin Weldon Kevin Ernest Weldon (born 1933) is an Australian book publisher, businessman, philanthropist and supporter of the lifesaving movement. He is best known for book publishing, firstly for the Paul Hamlyn Group, and later for his own publishing co ...

. It owned an interest in the Australian independent paperback publisher Sun Books from 1968 until 1971 when Macmillan Australia acquired that company. Paul Hamlyn bought the company back in 1986 and added it to the holdings of his new company,

Octopus Books An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, ...

. Octopus was sold in 1987 to

Reed International RELX plc (pronounced "Rel-ex") is a British multinational information and analytics company headquartered in London, England. Its businesses provide scientific, technical and medical information and analytics; legal information and analytics; ...

. Hamlyn's children's division was sold to the Egmont Group in 1998.

bought Octopus in 2001. Hamlyn is an international publisher of

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with b ...

illustrated books. Two thirds of the business is in international, North American and export markets. Since 2003 the publisher has made two significant acquisitions: Godsfield Press was acquired by Hamlyn in October 2003. It is a niche international publisher of illustrated books for the spirituality and alternative health market. Gaia Books was acquired in March 2004. It is a producer of international co-editions in the field of alternative philosophies and lifestyle. Octopus Books was sold to Lagardère Group and managed under Lagardère Publishing.

Book series

*ENCYCLOPEDIA Of Nature * Adventures from History * Art and Mankind * Art of the Western World * Cameo Series * The Colour Library of Art * The Colour Library of Art Paperbacks * Concise Guide in Colour series * Great Buildings of the World * Hamlyn All-Colour Paperbacks * Hamlyn Classics * Landmarks of the World's Art * Learning With Colour * Museums of the World * Odyssey Library * Pearson's Illustrated Car Servicing Series for Owner Drivers * Pocket Merlin series * Portraits of Greatness SeriesThe Portraits of Greatness Series (Hamlyn) - Book Series List
publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 30 August 2020. * The RIBA Drawings Series * Round The Year Storybooks * Storytime Gift Books

References

Sources

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External links

Official website in 1999 (archive copy)Official website in 2005 (archive copy)Official website in 2007 (archive copy)Hamlyn imprint of Octopus PublishingOctopus Publishing Group website
Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom Publishing companies established in 1950 {{UK-publish-company-stub