Noah Lewis "Ned" Pines (December 10, 1905 – May 14, 1990) 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
pulp magazine
Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 until around 1955. The term "pulp" derives from the Pulp (paper), wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed, due to their ...
s,
comic books
A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
, and
paperback books, active from at least 1928 to 1971. His
Standard Comics imprint was the parent company of the comic-book lines
Nedor Publishing
Standard Comics was a comic book imprint (trade name), imprint of United States, American publisher Ned Pines, who also published pulp magazines (under a Thrilling Publications, variety of company names that he also used for the comics) and pape ...
and
Better Publications, the most prominent character of which was the
superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...
the
Black Terror
The Black Terror is a fictional comic book superhero debuting in ''Exciting Comics'' #9, published by Nedor Comics in January 1941. The character was popular and, on the strength of the Black Terror's sales, Nedor made ''Exciting Comics'' a month ...
. Pines also established the paperback book publisher
Popular Library
Popular Library is a New York paperback book company established in 1942 by Leo Margulies and Ned Pines, who at the time were major pulp magazine and newspaper publishers. The company's logo of a pine tree was a tribute to Pines, and another ...
, which eventually merged with
Fawcett Publications
Fawcett Publications was an American publishing company founded in 1919 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, by Wilford Hamilton "Captain Billy" Fawcett (1885–1940).
It kicked off with the publication of the bawdy humor magazine ''Captain Billy's Whiz ...
.
Biography
Pines was born in
Malden,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
,
the son of Joseph and Dora Goldes Pines.
He had two brothers, Robert A. Pines, who would work with Ned in publishing, and Kermit L. Pines, who became a doctor; and a sister, Lillian.
Their father, a native of
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, had settled in the
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, Massachusetts, area and founded the Pines Rubber Company, of which he was president for 26 years before retiring sometime prior to his death in 1930, at age 57, at his home in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
.
Pines was president and owner of the
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
company Pines Publications, which he established in 1928, remaining as president until 1961.
He published
pulp magazine
Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 until around 1955. The term "pulp" derives from the Pulp (paper), wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed, due to their ...
s and other periodicals under a variety of company names, including
Thrilling Publications
Thrilling Publications, also known as Beacon Magazines (1936–37), Better Publications (1937–43) and Standard Magazines (1943–55), was a pulp magazine publisher run by Ned Pines, publishing such titles as ''Startling Stories'' ...
, with pulp magazines that included ''Thrilling Western'', ''The Lone Eagle'', and ''
Thrilling Wonder Stories
''Wonder Stories'' was an early American science fiction magazine which was published under several titles from 1929 to 1955. It was founded by Hugo Gernsback in 1929 after he had lost control of his first science fiction magazine, ''Amazing Sto ...
''.
His Collegian Press, Inc. bought the existing magazine ''College Humor'' from
Dell Publishing
Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and ...
by the mid-1930s, publishing it through 1942.
In mid-1936, Pines refuted a claim by the
Cartoonists Guild of America
A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the literary ...
that ''College Humor'' had not agreed to pay the $15 Guild minimum, payable within 30 days, for drawings by Guild members.
In October 1952, his Standard Magazines purchased ''Silver Screen'' and ''
Screenland
''Screenland'' was a monthly American magazine about movies, published between September 1920 and June 1971,[comic books
A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...]
to the mix in 1939 with the publishing
imprint Standard Comics, which became in turn the parent company of two comic-book lines:
Better Publications[Better Publications]
at the Grand Comics Database and
Nedor Publishing
Standard Comics was a comic book imprint (trade name), imprint of United States, American publisher Ned Pines, who also published pulp magazines (under a Thrilling Publications, variety of company names that he also used for the comics) and pape ...
.
[Nedor Publishing]
at the Grand Comics Database Collectors and historians sometimes refer to them collectively as "Standard/Better/Nedor".
In 1942,
Pines founded the
paperback book
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, ...
publisher
Popular Library
Popular Library is a New York paperback book company established in 1942 by Leo Margulies and Ned Pines, who at the time were major pulp magazine and newspaper publishers. The company's logo of a pine tree was a tribute to Pines, and another ...
, remaining its president through 1966 and serving as chairman through 1968.
He retired in 1971 and continued as a consultant.
Popular Library was distributed through the
American News Company
American News Company (ANC) was a magazine, newspaper, book, and comic book distribution company founded in 1864 by Sinclair Tousey, which dominated the distribution market in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th ce ...
until that distributor's demise in 1957.
Pines was, additionally, announced as chairman of the board of
Eastern Life Insurance on June 1, 1960, after having been a director of the company for 11 years.
He remained in that position through 1971.
Pines was also a member of the coordinating committee of the
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
Institute of Research from 1945 to 1947; on the advisory board of ''
Commentary
Commentary or commentaries may refer to:
Publications
* ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee
* Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...
'' magazine; and, from 1970 to 1974, on the board of directors of the
Merce Cunningham
Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other discipl ...
Dance Federation.
He was a leader of the publishers' division of the
Federation of Jewish Philanthropies
UJA-Federation of New York (United Jewish Appeal – Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York, Inc.) is the largest local philanthropy in the world. Headquartered in New York City, the organization raises and allocates funds annuall ...
and
United Jewish Appeal
The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), formerly the United Jewish Communities (UJC), is an American Jewish umbrella organization for the Jewish Federations system, representing over 350 independent Jewish communities across North Ameri ...
in December 1949 when he was elected to the board of director of the
New York Guild for the Jewish Blind, and was made a life trustee of the Federation in 1968.
As of at least mid-1960, he was a member of the board of the
Magazine Publishers Association.
Pines' brother Robert, who died of a heart attack at age 52 on August 8, 1949, was a 1918 Columbia University graduate
who practiced law from 1921 to 1935 before becoming editor and publisher of ''College Humor'' magazine; in 1941, he became editor and publisher of ''See'' magazine.
He was also a director of Standard Magazines, Inc., Better Publications, Inc. and Eastern Life Insurance.
Pines, who had homes in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
;
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
; and
East Hampton,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
, died at the
American Hospital of Paris
The American Hospital of Paris (''Hôpital américain de Paris''), founded in 1906, is a private, not-for-profit, community hospital certified under the French healthcare system. Located in Neuilly-sur-Seine, in the western suburbs of Paris, Fra ...
after a brief illness.
Personal life
Pines' first wife was the former Jacquelyn Sanger (as her last name is spelled in ''The New York Times'') of
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
,
the daughter of comic-book publisher
Ben Sangor. The couple had two daughters: Judith Ann Bernard, born July 25, 1939,
and Susan, born May 8, 1942.
The family lived at 965
Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...
during this the time.
By mid-1963, when Judith announced her engagement to Anthony Edward Marks, a
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
doctoral candidate in
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...
, Pines and his wife were separated or divorced, he living at 605 Park Avenue and Jacquelyn at 767 Fifth Avenue.
Pines was later married to Maxine Firestone and had two stepsons, Anthony and Kenneth Michaelman.
In 1941, Pines was an usher at the wedding of Ruth Feinberg, daughter of State Senator Benjamin F. Feinberg.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pines, Ned
American pulp magazine publishers (people)
Comic book publishers (people)
American book publishers (people)
1905 births
1990 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople