The ACE Doubles (and Singles): Image Library

The BRITISH (published) ACE DOUBLES

In my search for information on the ACE Doubles (and Singles), I have found a useful reference for the British publications (including the ACE imprint that I was uncertain about). This reference (information sent to me by a helpful reader) is The Mushroom Jungle: A History of Postwar Paperback Publishing by Steve Holland (1993) which I ordered from Barnes & Noble (or from Gary Lovis at www.gryphonbooks.com) . It appears as if the Black Spade Logo with the ACE imprint is separate from the ACE American editions.

From a paragraph on p. 176: "The closure of Archer Press and Harborough Publications in January 1954 were not to be the last heard of romance writer Paul Renin, for in 1955 Raymond and Lilian Locker reappeared as Verlock Press with more reprints. They had already experimented with a series of reprints under the names Trident Books and Trent Books, the former including the first reprinting of the now famous Jim Thomson, the latter reprinting a series of Ace Doubles from America. Rather confusingly they became Ace Books in 1957, although there was no connection with the American company. Ace Books was sold to Four Square Books in October 1959, then owned by the Godfrey Phillips tobacco company."

It also appears that ACE doubles were published in England but are strange - to say the least. They are set up as the dos-a-dos format, but often they have a LION LIBRARY story on the flip side. I am putting together what I have about these volumes and will include it in a link from the appropriate ACE DOUBLES letter-number series page. Keep tuned to this channel for more obscure stuff.

29 November 2002: I have finally documented some of the ACE Doubles format volumes printed in Great Britain. These volumes are slightly thicker in bulk than the American ACE Doubles and have a heavier card stock for the covers. What is interesting about these is that one of the stories is from an American ACE Double and the flip side is a LION (Book) story. The British ACE Doubles have a copyright date of 1953 (and 1954). The cover art is REDRAWN from the American ACE Double, but no artist information has been found (yet). These volumes are not numbered and have a price of 2'6. Information concerning these volumes was found in Books Are Everything, vol. 5 (no. 3), #23, September 1992, 18-19 [Tom Lesser, British ACE Doubles] and vol. 5 (no. 4), #24, December 1992, 4 (letters section). Not all images are available at this time and if any of the users of this site have any of these, or others not listed, please send me images and copyright/printing information.

These are what I have currently found (hopefully more to come):

J. LEITHHEAD The Lead-Slingers (reprints ACE Double western D-18) with PAUL DURST Bloody River (reprints LION 178).

MEL COLTON Double Take (reprints ACE Double mystery D-27) with MICHAEL MORGAN Nine More Lives (reprints LION 11 - "The Bloody Blonde" - using the U. S. (United States) hardcover title and new cover art).

Both volumes have the "Trent Book Company Ltd" of Liverpool, London listed as the publisher . Both are also "Made and Printed in Great Britain by C. Tinling & Co Ltd., Liverpool, London, and Prescot". The Colton side of the book also has the following info: "Double Take, Copyright 1953, by Ace Books, Inc. All rights reserved". The Morgan volume has the following: "An Ace Book by arrangement with Random House Inc. Ace Edition published 1954 Copyright 1947 by Random House Inc. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Convention." This information courtesy of an IMAGE LIBRARY user (Thanks Mike).

KEN MURRAY Feud In Piney Flats (reprints ACE Double western D-34) with SAM ALLISON Trouble On Crazyman (reprints LION 183).

A fourth British ACE Double merges two different American ACE stories instead of a LION volume.

THEODORE S. DRACHMAN Cry Plague! (reprints ACE Double D-13) with MARVIN CLAIRE The Drowning Wire (reprints ACE Double mystery D-37).

In addition to ACE DOUBLES, it appears that ACE licensed the sale (of either the story or the use of the ACE logo) of ACE SINGLES in England. I have found a few in my travels and am still a bit confused about their history (which is not documented anywhere I have found - yet - see previous discussion to examine how confusing this is with respect to these volumes).

So, keeping with the idea that the ACE IMAGE LIBRARY is a reference source, here is what I have found (20 July 2006; updated 02 May 2008). These all list themselves as ACE Books, although the logo is often the ACE spade.

H-160 JOHN STEINBECK In Dubious Battle (1958; 1st thus)

H-169 JAMES McGOVERN Fraulein (1958; 1st thus)

H-173 BENGI DANIELSSON Love In The South Seas (1958; 1st thus)

A cover that is a bit more racy than would be acceptable in the States at this time period. This book features 8 pages of B/W photographs, and is a sociological study of Polynesian relationships by the anthropologist on the Kon-Tiki expedition.

H-175 JOHN HORNE BURNS A Cry of Children (1958; 1st thus)

H-188 GERALD KERSH Night and the City (c. 1938; this edition April 1959; 1st thus)

This volume was the source for two films: the 1950 Night and the City starring Richard Widmark and the 1992 release starring Robert de Niro.

H-193 ANDRE SOUBIRAN The Healing Oath (Harborough Publishing Co. 1958; 1st thus)

First published in French. Translated by Oliver Coburn. Sequel to the The Doctors. Contains four (4) pages of advertisements for other Ace/Harborough titles.

H-209 JAMES M. CAIN The Moth (1st thus)

H-215 ARTHUR MILLER Focus (1st ACE printing 1958)

Back cover has a photograph of a very young Arthur Miller.

H-230 FRANCOISE MALLET-JORIS The Red Room (1958)

H-233 JAMES M. CAIN Mildred Pierce (1st thus)

H 235 J. D. SALINGER For Esmé - With Love & Squalor (1st Ace impression 1959)

H-238 CONSTNTINE FITZGIBBONS The Blitz (1959)

H-241 JEAN-LOUIS CURTIS Dark Streets of Paris (1st ACE impression 1959)

H-248 CONSTANCE TOMKINSON Les Girls (Harborough Publishing Co. 1959; graphics from Windmill Theatre)

H-253 JAMES M. CAIN Jealous Woman (cover by Vernon; 1st thus)

This volume collects two novels (or novellas) originally published separately by Avon Books: Jealous Woman and Sinful Woman.

H-258 NELSON ALGREN A Walk On The Wild Side (photo graphic cover; tie-in with the Columbia Pictures film of the same title)

H-261 ARTHUR SCHNITZLER La Ronde (original title: Reigen; 1959: illustrated by Philip Goug; film tie-in)

H-265 ALBERTO MORAVIA A Ghost At Noon (1959)

H-269 RICHARD WRIGHT Black Boy (Harborough Publishing Co.; 1959; 1st thus; photo of author on back cover)

"A Scorching Story of a Negro Adolescent in a Hostile World ."

H-269 (back cover)

H-274 ROBERT SHAPLEN The Love Making of Max Robert (Harborough Publishing Co. 1959; 1st thus)

Contains five (5) pages of advertisements for other ACE (UK edition) titles.

H-275 CHARLES MERGENDAHL The Lonely Ones (1959; 1st thus)

H-289 ANONYMOUS The Fatal Decisions (1959; British printing by The Harborough Publishing Co. Ltd; non-fiction; WWII)

H-305 BERTON ROUECHE The Last Enemy (1st ACE impression 1959)

H-322 FRANCOISE MALLET-JORIS House of Lies (1960)

H 325 TENNESSEE WILLIAMS The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1st Ace impression 1960)

H-335 FRED URQUHART Time Will Knit (1960; 1st thus)

H-338 WOLF MANKOWITZ Expresso Bongo and Two Other Stories (1960)

Title story made into a film with Cliff Richards and Laurence Harvey.

H-341 GEORGES SIMENON The Trial of Bebe Donge (1960)

H-345 JAMES M. CAIN Galatea (c. 1954; 1960; 1st British printing)

Galatea was published by Signet Books (1152; 1954) and precedes the publication of this edition.

H-356 D. H. LAWRENCE The Lost Girl (1960)

H-368 CHARLES MERGENDAHL It's Only Temporary (1st ACE printing; 1960)

H-388 PETER CHEYNEY G-Man at the Yard (1st ACE printing; 1960)

A Lemmy Caution novel.

H-393 HERBERT SIMMONS Corner Boy (juvenile delinquent)

H-415 NELSON ALGREN Never Come Morning

H-419 VIRGINIA WOOLF Between the Acts (1961; 1st thus; photo cover insert of Virginia Woolf)

H-422 RAY BRADBURY The October Country (c. 1961)

Originally published as an ACE Books edition in 1961, this volume was published by Four Square Books (which owned the British ACE label) and continued to use the ACE logo. From Donald H. Tuck's Encyclopedia (Vol. 1) is a notice that the next printing of this story collection was also by Four Square Books in 1963 using the same book number (H-422). Thanks to Rias Nuninga for the image and information.

H-422 (back cover with a picture of a very young Ray Bradbury)

H-423 DYLAN THOMAS Adventures in the Skin Trade (listed as "first ACE Books edition"; 1961)

H-425 E. R. BRAITHWAITE To Sir With Love (1961)

The book that brought about the movie of the same name and starred Sidney Poitney.

H-429 JAMES JOYCE Stephen Hero (1st printing; 1961)

Listed as "the original draft of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man."

H-436 D. H. LAWRENCE Kangaroo (1961)

H-479 JULIAN MAYFIELD The Hit (1961; 1st thus)

A novel of Negro life in Harlem by an African-American writer.

H-487 BILL NAUGHTON Late Night On Watling St. (1961; 1st thus)

H-521 RAY BRADBURY The Small Assassin (1962)

H-549 DOM MORAES Gone Away (1962; Travel/Adventure)