The origin of Gilberton, publisher of Classics Illustrated
Jan 31, 2022 12:43:40 GMT -5
shaxper, MWGallaher, and 3 more like this
Post by Rob Allen on Jan 31, 2022 12:43:40 GMT -5
Rather than continue to clutter MWGallaher 's Hour-Man thread, I'm moving this side discussion I've been having with Cei-U! to its own thread. Here's what you missed so far if you haven't been following the Hour-Man thread (which you should check out):
Chemistry sets, such as the Gilbert Chemistry Set shown below, were popular among boys in the 1940s. A superhero that appeals to an adjacent interest seems like it would have been a good bet.
I'm a bit late with this, but - I can't find anything linking the A.C. Gilbert Company (founded 1909, maker of chemistry sets, Erector sets, and model trains) with the Gilberton Company (founded 1942, publisher of Classic Comics/Classics Illustrated). A.C. Gilbert did publish two promotional comic books produced by the Custom Comics division of ACG, Adventures in Science with Kurt Schaffenberger art in 1958, and Science Leads the Way with John Rosenberger art in 1959. But the Classics people seem to be unrelated.
Rob: The identification of Gilberton the chemistry set manufacturer as identical to Gilberton the comic book publisher comes straight from William B. Jones' "Classics Illustrated: A Cultural History." According to Jones, publishing partner Raymond Haas bought the bankrupt company for a song in '42.
Luckily that page of Jones' book is online at Google Books. We've been talking about two different chemistry set makers. The picture on Page 1 of this thread is a "Gilbert" set, made by the A.C. Gilbert Company, which was owned by the Gilbert family until 1964. Raymond Haas bought another company that had also made chemistry sets, the "Gilberton" corporation. Two letters can make a big difference!
Now, the latest development: I found an online copy of "Albert Lewis Kanter and the Classics: The Man Behind the Gilberton Company" by Michael Sawyer, from the Spring 1987 issue of the Journal of Popular Culture. In there we find:
"In May, 1942, after issue #3 (“Count of Monte Cristo”) was published, he acquired the dormant Gilberton Corporation from Haas. Gilberton itself has an interesting history which is worth noting. On October 6, 1935, the principal owner, Hamilton Gilbert, and his two partners, William Ochs and Martin Glassner, formed a chemical company on 7 West 22nd Street in Manhattan. After several years in operation, the business faltered and was brought out by Raymond Haas. Because World War II was in progress, the dissolution of the original certificate of incorporation could not be obtained so the charter was amended on March 13, 1942 to allow the firm to engage in publishing."
A company that makes chemistry sets could be described as a "chemical company", but if they started in 1935 and were defunct by '42, did they really have time to supply chemistry sets to "thousands of young Americans" as Jones states? Or is it possible that Jones mixed up Gilbert and Gilberton as we have in this discussion?
Also, the Gilbert Corporation, the company that made those chemistry sets, would within two years of this story, enter the comics field itself as the publisher of Classic Comics/Classics Illustrated.
Now, the latest development: I found an online copy of "Albert Lewis Kanter and the Classics: The Man Behind the Gilberton Company" by Michael Sawyer, from the Spring 1987 issue of the Journal of Popular Culture. In there we find:
"In May, 1942, after issue #3 (“Count of Monte Cristo”) was published, he acquired the dormant Gilberton Corporation from Haas. Gilberton itself has an interesting history which is worth noting. On October 6, 1935, the principal owner, Hamilton Gilbert, and his two partners, William Ochs and Martin Glassner, formed a chemical company on 7 West 22nd Street in Manhattan. After several years in operation, the business faltered and was brought out by Raymond Haas. Because World War II was in progress, the dissolution of the original certificate of incorporation could not be obtained so the charter was amended on March 13, 1942 to allow the firm to engage in publishing."
A company that makes chemistry sets could be described as a "chemical company", but if they started in 1935 and were defunct by '42, did they really have time to supply chemistry sets to "thousands of young Americans" as Jones states? Or is it possible that Jones mixed up Gilbert and Gilberton as we have in this discussion?
