Gustav Rex Collings (18 June 1925 – 23 May 1996,

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district of Hertfordshire, England. The town dates from at least the 7th century. It lies in the valley of the River Hiz at the north-eastern end of the Chiltern Hills ...

, Hertfordshire) was an English publisher who specialized in books relating to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

. He ensured the publication of

Wole Soyinka Wole Soyinka , (born 13 July 1934) is a Nigerian author, best known as a playwright and poet. He has written three novels, ten collections of short stories, seven poetry collections, twenty five plays and five memoirs. He also wrote two transla ...

's plays, and was the first to publish ''

Watership Down ''Watership Down'' is an adventure novel by English author Richard Adams, published by Rex Collings Ltd of London in 1972. Set in Hampshire in southern England, the story features a small group of rabbits. Although they live in their natur ...

'' (1972) by

Richard Adams Richard George Adams (10 May 1920 – 24 December 2016) was an English novelist. He is best known for his debut novel ''Watership Down'' which achieved international acclaim. His other works included ''Maia'', '' Shardik'' and '' The Plague Do ...

. Isabel Quigly
"Obituary: Rex Collings"
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 7 June 1996. Collings started at

Penguin Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

before moving to

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, where he established the Three Crowns Series for books on African subjects. He then moved to Methuen before setting up his own publishing company, Rex Collings Ltd. He risked his own money in publishing ''

'', which around thirty publishers had turned down. He was the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

candidate for Portsmouth Langstone constituency at the 1964 general election and

North Norfolk North Norfolk is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Cromer, and the largest town is North Walsham. The district also includes the towns of Fakenham, Holt, Norfolk, Holt, Shering ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collings, Rex 1925 births 1996 deaths English book publishers (people) 20th-century English businesspeople