It has been suggested that Western Publishing Company be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

Western Publishing, also known as "Western Printing and Lithographing Co." was a large publishing company that put out books, magazines, comic books and other items. The company no longer exists. Image File history File links Please see the file description page for further information. ... Western Publishing Company is the company that originally produced Outburst, Pictionary, and Solarquest. ... “Publisher” redirects here. ...

The company was founded by brothers Edward Henry and Albert H. Wadewitz. They bought "West Side Printing Company" from a printer in September 1907 for $2,504 and changed its name in 1910. The firm was based in Racine, WI, with editorial offices in both New York and Los Angeles, and another printing plant in Poughkeepsie, NY. In 1915 the company bought out Chicago publisher Hammerung-Whitman Publishing Co, which became their subsidiary Whitman Publishing Company. Another subsidiary was "K.K. Publications", named after Kay Kamen, head of character merchandising at Walt Disney Studios from 1933-1949. K.K. Publications seemed to have ended in the mid/late 1960s. Nickname: Motto: Urbs in Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: , Country State Counties Cook, DuPage Settled 1770s Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ... The Walt Disney Studios refers to several different entities and locations associated with The Walt Disney Company: The Walt Disney Studios is one of the media empires four main operating units. ...

Most people are unaware of Western Publishing, because everything they published was under other names (Whitman, Golden, etc). They produced comic books, a wide-range of children's books, and some adult books, many of them distributed outside the normal publication channels. A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ...

• Comic Books. Western owned licenses for the characters from Walt Disney Productions, Warner Brothers, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Edgar Rice Burroughs and Walter Lantz Studio, and produced comics based on these characters (and others) as well as original works. The editorial staff at the west coast office over the years included Eleanor Packer, Alice Cobb, Chase Craig, Zetta Devoe and Del Connell. Oscar LeBeck, Matt Murphy and Wally Green are among those who oversaw the east coast office. From 1938 to 1962, Western's comics came out under the Dell Comics imprint, who also handled the distribution and financing of the line. In 1962, Western decided to end its partnership with Dell and publish comics themselves, and set up Gold Key Comics. This continued until the late 1970s, after which newsstand distribution was discontinued in favor of distribution to toy stores etc. under the "Whitman Comics" banner. They stopped publishing comics in 1984, and all their licenses have since gone to other publishers. Some of their comics were published under that name, especially March of Comics. Dark Horse Comics has recently been doing some reprints of their original comic book properties, which are owned by Random House.

• Children's Books. Western published a wide range of children books (puzzle books, coloring books, Big Little Books, etc), mostly under the Golden Books and Whitman Publishing line since the 1920/30. The Little Golden Books was a very popular line. Beginning as the "Whitman Famous Classics," and later renamed the "Golden Press" imprint, Western published a series of (public domain) classics, such as Little Women, Little Men, Black Beauty, and Heidi, among many others.

• Older Juvenile Literature. Initially under its Whitman line, Western from the 1940s to the 1980s published several series of books for older children and young teenagers. Girls' mystery series included Trixie Belden, Ginny Gordon, Donna Parker, and Trudy Phillips. Boys' series included the Walton Boys, Power Boys, and Troy Nesbit mysteries. The line from the 1950s to the 1970s also included a number of titles licensed from popular movies and television shows: Lassie, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, many television Westerns, and Walt Disney's Spin and Marty and Annette, (from the serial featuring Annette Funicello that aired on The Mickey Mouse Club) among many other titles.

• Auto Service Manuals. Western printed auto service manuals for Volvo up to at least 1989.

• Other. The popular line of nature guides, Golden Guide, were published under the Golden Press name. This line has since been revived by St. Martin's Press. They published a line of guidebooks for coin collectors under the Whitman name, which has gone to H.E. Harris.

The company sponsored (along with partners Dell and Simon & Schuster) the Story Book Shop on Main Street, U.S.A. in Disneyland which opened on July 17, 1955. It closed in April 1995. Walt Disney Productions is the former name of The Walt Disney Company, which it held from 1929 to 1986. ... Warner Bros. ... “MGM” redirects here. ... Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan, although he also produced works in many genres. ... Walter Lantz Studio was an American animation studio. ... Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publications, which got its start in pulp magazines. ... Gold Key Comics was an imprint of Western Publishing cteated for comic books distributed to newstands. ... March of Comics was a long-running comic book series published by Western Publishing. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Big Little Books began in 1932, published by the Whitman Publishing Company in Racine, Wisconsin. ... Little Red Hen cover Little Golden Books is a very popular series of childrens books begun in 1942. ... Little Women is a novel published in 1868 and written by American author Louisa May Alcott. ... {{infobox Book | | name = Little Men | title_orig = | translator = | image = | image_caption = | author = Louisa May Alcott | illustrator = | cover_artist = | country = | language = | series = | genre = | publisher = | release_date = 1871 | english_release_date = | media_type = | pages = | isbn = | preceded_by = Little Women | followed_by = Jos Boys }} Little Men (published 1871) is considered the second book of the Little Women trilogy written by Louisa... For other uses, see Black Beauty (disambiguation). ... For the German supermodel, see Heidi Klum. ... Trixie Belden is the title character in a series of girl detective mysteries written between 1948 and 1986. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Donna Parker is the lead character of a seven volume girls series was written by Marcia Levin and was discontinued by the mid-1970s. ... Lassie was a American television series which originally aired from 1954 to 1974. ... The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin was a childrens television program which ran from 1954 until 1959. ... Broncho Billy Anderson, from The Great Train Robbery The Western movie is one of the classic American film genres. ... For the company founded by Disney, see The Walt Disney Company. ... David Stollery (left) as Marty Markham and Tim Considine as Spin Evans introduce the first Spin and Marty serial Spin and Marty was a popular series of TV shorts that aired as part of the Mickey Mouse Club. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... Annette Joanne Funicello (born October 22, 1942) is an American singer and actress. ... Annette Funicello on The Mickey Mouse Club The Mickey Mouse Club was a very long-running variety television series in the 1950s, produced and televised by the Walt Disney Studios, featuring a regular but ever-changing cast of teenage performers, of which the most popular was Annette Funicello. ... Four of the early Golden Guides. ... Headquartered in the legendary Flatiron Building in New York City, St. ... Henry Ellis (H.E.) Harris (January 21, 1902 – December 29, 1977) was a leading philatelist and stamp dealer. ... Dell Inc. ... Jean-François Millet Le Semeur (The Sower) Simon & Schuster logo, circa 1961. ... Main Street, USA, at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World Main Street, U.S.A. is the welcoming and entrance area of the many Disney Magic Kingdom-style parks around the world. ... For other uses, see Disneyland (disambiguation). ...

In the 1990s at least three Golden Books Showcase Store locations were opened, which featured only Western Publishing products. The first was opened in the Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Illinois in November 1992; the second in CityWalk Center outside Universal Studios Hollywood in June 1993; and the third store was opened in Rockefeller Center in New York City in April 1994. They have all since closed. Woodfield Mall is a shopping mall located in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg, Illinois at the intersection of Golf Road and Illinois Route 53. ... Coordinates: , Incorporated March 7, 1956 Government  - Village President Al Larson Area  - Village 49. ... Taken in December 2004, this picture shows a walkway bridge (right) and the giant studio entrance (back) at Universal Studios Orlando. ... Universal Studios Hollywood is the original Universal Studios theme park. ... Lower Plaza at Rockefeller Center. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ...

Mattel bought Western in 1982, then sold it off in 1984. Under new ownership, it renamed itself "Golden Books Family Entertainment" and tried to focus on children's books. It sold off the adult books (Golden Guide) to St. Martin's Press in 1999, and later the H.E. Harris coin company would buy Whitman Coin Products from St. Martin’s Press in 2003 and rename as Whitman Publishing. Golden Books Family Entertainment was bought out by Random House in 2001. Mattel Inc. ... Four of the early Golden Guides. ... Headquartered in the legendary Flatiron Building in New York City, St. ... Henry Ellis (H.E.) Harris (January 21, 1902 – December 29, 1977) was a leading philatelist and stamp dealer. ... // Random House is a publishing house based in New York City. ...

Further reading

• Comic Book Artist #22 (Oct. 2002)

External links

• Mark Evanier on the relationship between Dell Comics and Gold Key Comics
• Mark Evanier on the legacy of the book Walter Lantz Easy Way to Draw
• finding guide to Chase Craig collection held at the California State University-Northridge Oviatt Library Special Collections Department