Oscar Dystel

Oscar Dystel (October 31, 1912 – May 28, 2014) was an American publisher and paperback books pioneer whose firm Bantam Books published bestselling paperback editions of Catcher in the Rye, Jaws and Ragtime among many others. His management made Bantam the main publisher of mass-market paperbacks.

Dystel was born in the Bronx, New York on October 31, 1912. His parents met in a garment factory, later running a tailors and, his father, a liquor store in Connecticut. As a child, he wanted to play the violin. Dystel was admitted to New York University on a track scholarship, working as a typesetter for The Times. He graduated in 1935 with a degree in advertising. His grades earned him a scholarship to Harvard Business School, from which he graduated in 1937.

After college Dystel worked on promotions at Esquire and then as editor on Coronet magazine. During his time at Coronet, he helped increase circulation from 87,000 to 2 million. He left the magazine in 1942 to serve in United States Office of War Information where he worked on psychological warfare. For his service, he won a Medal of Freedom for creating anti-Nazi pamphlets distributed in occupied France that were "valuable factors in reducing the enemy’s will to resist."

After the war he was hired by Collier's magazine as managing editor, but did not stay with the publication for very long. During this period he also worked as an executive for Gardner Cowles on their Quick news weekly, and became editor of Flair magazine in 1950.

...
Wikipedia