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April 18: First Crossword Puzzle Book
The first book of crossword puzzles ever published was released on this date in 1924. It was also the first book published by Simon & Schuster. Richard L. Simon, co-founder, was a pianist and piano salesman who married Andrea Louise Simon, a biracial civil rights activist and singer; their kids included singer Carly Simon. M. Lincoln Schuster, known as Max, was editor of an automobile magazine. Written by Margaret Petherbridge, the crossword puzzle book sold for $1.35 and came with a pencil attached. (Petherbridge went on to become the first crossword puzzle editor for the New York Times, from 1942 to 1968.) Simon & Schuster also invented the unsold returns policy, which revolutionized the bookstore industry, and teamed up with Pocket Books in 1939 to bring 25¢ softcover literature to the American market. In 1942, they launched Little Golden Books, which sold nearly five million in its first year.
“Don’t pass judgment on a manuscript as it is, but as it can be made to be.” — Max Schuster
Lawrence Bush edited Jewish Currents from 2003 until 2018. He is the author of Bessie: A Novel of Love and Revolution and Waiting for God: The Spiritual Explorations of a Reluctant Atheist, among other books. His new volume of illustrated Torah commentaries, American Torah Toons 2, is scheduled for publication this year.
