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Title: Pathfinder Press Publications
Date (inclusive): 1922-2014
Collection Number: 92116
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
52 manuscript boxes, 5 phonotape cassettes, 1 envelope
(21.8 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Record copies of books, pamphlets, and bulletins, relating to Marxist theory and socialist political analysis and commentary,
and including works of Leon Trotsky, Fidel Castro, Malcolm X and others. Includes publications of Pioneer Publishers, Merit
Publishers, and Monad Press, predecessors of Pathfinder Press; publications issued directly by the Socialist Workers Party
and affiliates; and foreign-language translations of Pathfinder Press publications. Also includes some unpublished material
related to publishing projects.
Creator:
Castro, Fidel, 1926-2016
Creator:
Trotsky, Leon, 1879-1940
Creator:
Socialist Workers Party
Creator:
X, Malcolm, 1925-1965
Creator:
Pathfinder Press
Creator:
Pioneer Publishers
Creator:
Merit Publishers
Creator:
Monad Press
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
The Hoover Institution Library & Archives acquired a large collection of record copies of publications by Pathfinder Press,
its predecessors and related publishing houses in 1992. A register to the Pathfinder Press Publications Collection was prepared
in 1994 and remains the principal overall description of and finding aid to the collection. Since its preparation additional
shipments of material have been received and described in this register.
[Identification of item], Pathfinder Press publications, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Pathfinder Press descends from Pioneer Publishers, a publishing house established in New York City in 1930 in affiliation
with the Communist League of America (predecessor of the Socialist Workers Party). Pioneer Publishers was superseded by Merit
Publishers in 1965, and Merit Publishers in turn was superseded by Pathfinder Press in 1969. Monad Press, which operated between
1972 and 1986, was closely associated with Pathfinder Press.
Pathfinder Press and its predecessors have been publishers of works of Marxist theory and of socialist political analysis
and commentary. They have been the principal English-language publishers of writings of Leon Trotsky, and have also been publishers
of documentary works on the history of the early years of the Communist International, and on the histories of the Fourth
International and the Socialist Workers Party; writings of James P. Cannon and other Socialist Workers Party leaders; and
writings of such international figures as Malcolm X, Fidel Castro, Ernesto Guevara, the Sandinista leaders, Maurice Bishop,
Thomas Sankara, and Nelson Mandela.
Scope and Content of Collection
This collection of record copies of books, pamphlets and bulletins published by Pathfinder Press and its predecessors was
assembled and maintained by Pathfinder Press in New York City until its deposit in the Hoover Institution Library & Archives
in 1992. Pathfinder Press descends from Pioneer Publishers, a publishing house established in New York City in 1930 in affiliation
with the Communist League of America (predecessor of the Socialist Workers Party). Pioneer Publishers was superseded by Merit
Publishers in 1965, and Merit Publishers in turn was superseded by Pathfinder Press in 1969. Monad Press, which operated between
1972 and 1986, was closely associated with Pathfinder Press.
The collection includes a virtually complete set of all Pioneer, Merit, Monad and Pathfinder titles ever published. There
is a distinct series of Education for Socialists bulletins. The collection also includes a number of related publications
distributed by Pathfinder Press but appearing under other imprints. These consist principally of pamphlets and other works
published directly by the Socialist Workers Party, its predecessors and affiliates, and associated election campaign and legal
defense organizations; and foreign-language translations of works published originally by Pathfinder Press and its predecessors.
Other copies of books in the collection will be found in the Hoover Institution Library and Stanford University Library.
A small volume of unpublished material, including a typescript for a book, and background research material assembled in preparation
of books, also forms part of the collection.
The incremental materials consist primarily of publications dated 1993 and after. However there are a few earlier items. In
addition there is a small volume of working material used by Pathfinder Press in preparation of three volumes relating to
the early history of the Communist International and of the Soviet Communist Party.
A second set of incremental materials includes a large number of Persian-language imprints of Pathfinder titles published
in association with Iranian publishers. Also included is an unpublished documentary manuscript on the case of Aníbal Escalante
in Cuba.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Socialism
Audiotapes
Communism -- United States
Communism
Socialism -- United States
Publishers and publishing -- United States
Fourth International