Schuster, Max Lincoln
SCHUSTER, MAX LINCOLN
SCHUSTER, MAX LINCOLN (1897–1970), U.S. publisher. Born in Kalusz, Austria, Schuster founded with Richard L. Simon (1899–1962) the book-publishing firm of Simon and Schuster. Established in 1924, the firm attracted immediate attention through its advertising and promotion innovations. In their first year Simon and Schuster published crossword puzzle books, which proved to be very popular and very profitable. They then branched out into publishing literary nonfiction, humor, self-help, and fiction. In 1939 the partners, with Leon Shimkin and Robert F. de Graff, organized Pocket Books, Inc., which became the first mass paperback publisher in the United States. Three years later, Simon and Schuster established Little Golden Books, a successful series of colorful books for young children. In 1957 Simon ended his association with the firm, and in 1967 Schuster sold his interest in the firm to Leon Shimkin (1907–1988), who became president.
In 1988 Simon and Schuster were inducted posthumously into the Publishing Hall of Fame for "a lifelong commitment to book publishing."
Schuster edited the book A Treasury of the World's Great Letters from Ancient Days to Our Own Time (1940).
[Israel Soifer /
Ruth Beloff (2nd ed.)]