Kalmbach Media (formerly Kalmbach Publishing Co.) was an American
publisher
Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...
of books and magazines, many of them railroad-related, located in
Waukesha, Wisconsin.
History
The company's first publication was
''The Model Railroader'', which began publication in the summer of 1933 at 545 S. 84th Street in
Milwaukee
Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
(now site of a car wash), with a cover date of January 1934. A press release announcing the magazine appeared in August 1933, but did not receive much interest.
In 1940, business was good enough for Kalmbach to launch another magazine about railroads in general with the simple title of ''
Trains Magazine''. From its first issue dated November 1940, it grew quickly from an initial circulation of just over 5,000.
Kalmbach became exclusively a publisher when it discontinued its printing operations in 1973, opting to contract production from other printers, that spot (on the 3rd floor) would later be home to the ''Milwaukee Racine & Troy'' model railroad, which would be torn down in 1989
In 1985, Kalmbach purchased AstroMedia Corporation, adding its four magazines: ''
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...
'', ''Deep Sky'', the children's science magazine ''
Odyssey
The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...
'' and ''Telescope Making''.
In 1989, they moved out of their office at 1027 N. 7th Street of Milwaukee (now part of
Milwaukee Area Technical College and
Milwaukee PBS) to their location in Waukesha, their first location was at 545 S. 84th Street is now a car wash.
Kalmbach began publishing its annual ''Great Model Railroads'' in November 1990.
In 1991, Kalmbach purchased Greenberg Publishing of Sykesville, Maryland. Also included in the purchase was Greenberg Shows, which sponsored nearly two dozen combined model railroad and doll house shows on the East Coast. Intending to focus on the adult hobby and leisure market, Kalmbach sold the publication rights of the children's science magazine ''
Odyssey
The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...
'' to Cobblestone Publishing of Peterborough, New Hampshire in September 1991.
In January 1992, Kalmbach began publishing ''Earth'' magazine.
Kalmbach purchased Discover Media, publisher of the science magazine
''Discover'', in August 2010.
Gerald B. Boettcher, the company's president, retired in June 2012. Charles R. Croft became the new president.
In 2016 Kalmbach acquired Rather Dashing Games, a board game company based near
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...
. In 2018 the company sold the board game company to Loren and Heather Coleman, owners of game publisher
Catalyst Game Labs. According to the Rather Dashing Games website, the company is now a division of Catalyst Game Labs.
In 2017 the company hired digital media veteran Dan Hickey as its sixth chief executive officer.
[
] Hickey was the first Kalmbach leader hired from outside the company in its 84-year history. The company was renamed Kalmbach Media in 2018.
Sale to Firecrown
On May 1, 2024, Kalmbach Media announced the sale of several titles to Firecrown Media, including ''Trains'', ''Model Railroader'', ''Classic Toy Trains'', ''Classic Trains'', ''Garden Railways'', and the trains.com web site. Also included in the sale is ''Astronomy'' magazine, ''FineScale Modeler'', the Kalmbach Books division, and related e-commerce sites. The sale left Kalmbach with ''Discover'' magazine as its sole remaining publication; Kalmbach later sold ''Discover'' to LabX Media Group.
On July, 25, 2024, Kalmbach Media announced the sale of their building for $6.5 million to Silgan Containers. The corporate entity was dissolved on November 14, 2024.
Magazines
* ''Airliners International'' (ceased publication)
* ''American Snowmobiler'' (sold to Harris Publishing 2019)
* ''Art Jewelry'' (ceased publication)
* ''
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...
'' (sold to Firecrown Media 2024)
* ''Bead & Button'' (ceased publication after October 2020 issue)
* ''BeadStyle'' (ceased publication)
* ''BirdWatching'' (sold to
Madavor Media in 2012)
* ''Car Modeler'' (ceased publication)
* ''Classic Toy Trains Magazine'' (sold to Firecrown Media 2024)
* ''Classic Trains Magazine'' (sold to Firecrown Media 2024)
* ''Collecting Toys'' (ceased publication)
* ''
Discover'' (sold to LabX Media 2024)
* ''Drone360'' (ceased publication)
* ''Earth''
* ''FineScale Modeler'' (sold to Firecrown Media 2024)
* ''
Garden Railways'' (ceased publication)
* ''HO Model Trains'' (ceased publication)
* ''Make It Mine'' (ceased publication)
* ''
Model Railroader'' (its first periodical, sold to Firecrown Media 2024)
* ''Model Retailer'' (ceased publication)
* ''Model Trains'' (ceased publication)
* ''Scale Auto'' (ceased publication)
* ''Ships & Sailing'' (ceased publication)
* ''
The Writer'' (sold to Madavor Media in 2012)
* ''
Trains
A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...
'' (its second periodical, sold to Firecrown Media 2024)
The company also produces some annual publications.
In addition, it publishes numerous books, including the ''Tourist Trains Guidebook''. An illustrated compendium of more than 450 tourist railroads, dinner trains, and rail museums in the U.S. and Canada, the 300-page guidebook's 2009 edition provides reviews by ''Trains'' magazine staff and contributors.
It was the original publisher of
Jim Scribbins' ''
The Hiawatha Story'' in 1970.
See also
*
List of English language book publishing companies
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1934 establishments in Wisconsin
Book publishing companies based in Wisconsin
Magazine publishing companies of the United States
Ornithological publishing companies
Publishing companies established in 1934
Rail transport publishing companies
Waukesha, Wisconsin
Publishing companies disestablished in 2024
2024 disestablishments in Wisconsin