Krause Publications: A brief history

As a young man, Chet Krause had a number of hobby interests. Among them were coins and firearms. Living in a rural area, however, Krause had few opportunities to buy and sell coins. At the time, he subscribed to an all-advertising tabloid for buyers and sellers of firearms. If firearms could be bought and sold through the mail, he reasoned, so could coins. So he conceived the idea of a similar publication for coin collectors and dubbed it Numismatic News.

The first issue, dated Oct. 13, 1952, consisted of a single page of newsprint -- all text -- that introduced the new publication to its initial mailing of 600 readers. It was composed on the dining-room table in the Krause family home on Iola Street in Iola, Wis., with help from Chet's mother, Cora.

The idea took off, and soon the advertising and subscriptions started coming in. By spring 1954, the publication had grown to 24 pages. Krause then rented an office in downtown Iola and hired his first employee.

For the next two years, Krause continued to work at his full-time profession, carpentry, while moonlighting as a publisher. But as Numismatic News continued to grow, he was forced to decide between carpentry and publishing. In 1957 he constructed a new office building for his newspaper and then hung up the hammer.

In September 1961 Krause doubled his product line by purchasing Coin Press magazine from a Pennsylvania publisher. With the first issue of 1962, he renamed it Coins and had his first newsstand publication. Meanwhile, Numismatic News continued to flourish. In 1964 it averaged 116 pages an issue.

The following year the bubble burst. Coin collecting entered a slump, and Krause Publications' revenues slumped with it. Krause and his senior staff members vowed that if the company could survive the slump, it would diversify to survive tough times in the future.

 Diversification

By 1968 the company's fortunes started to pick up again, and in the fall of 1971 Krause was ready to make good on his vow to diversify. After studying a number of areas, the publisher chose old cars for his next venture. A monthly tabloid appropriately called Old Cars made its debut in October 1971.

The following year Krause Publications made its first major foray into book publishing by releasing the 800-page Standard Catalog of World Coins. The book was an immediate success, and new editions grew so big in size they were broken down into individual volumes covering world coins of the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.

By the mid-'70s, the company had outgrown its office at the corner of Washington and Water streets in Iola, despite two additions over the years. In 1975 construction was completed on a new office on the eastern edge of Iola. It was expanded in 1980, 1981, 1983, 1987, 1989 and 2000. Support Services, a second building one mile east of the main offices, houses book shipping and receiving operations, a mail room, a print center, and some circulation functions.

The 1980s saw rapid growth and diversification, and shaped the company into the multidimensional publisher that it is today. It started with the premiere issue of Baseball Cards magazine in spring 1980 and was followed by the purchase of Sports Collectors Digest the following year. Krause's new sports division rode the crest of the sports-memorabilia collecting boom through the 1980s.

Following close behind were publications on comics in 1982, records in 1983, firearms in 1987, outdoors and toys in 1988, rural construction in 1989, general collectibles in 1993, knives in 1994, stamps in 1996, and arts & crafts in 1997.

Antique Trader Publications came into the Krause fold in 1999. The acquisition included Antique Trader Weekly, Big Reel, Postcard Collector, Collector Magazine & Price Guide, the Antique Trader line of collectibles books, and Tuff Stuff magazine. Antique Trader Publications maintains an office in Dubuque, Iowa.

Beyond periodicals

In April 1996 Krause Publications purchased DBI Books of Northbrook, Ill., adding approximately 50 new titles -- most of which deal with firearms, knives, and outdoors interests -- to its book division. Three months later Krause Publications purchased Books Americana, an Alabama-based publisher with nearly 30 titles dealing with a variety of collectibles. Titles cover such collectibles as toys, figurines, records, fishing lures, and kitchen collectibles. Then in early 1997, Krause doubled its book division with the acquisition of the non-automotive titles of the Chilton Book Co. of Randor, Pa.

Krause Publications today

Krause Publications now employs approximately 400 people and offers 40+ periodicals, 10 hobby shows, and 750 reference and how-to books.

In July 2002, Krause was purchased by F+W Publications of Cincinnati, Ohio.

F+W, an ABRY Partners, LLC. company, is one of the world's largest publishers of books and magazines for enthusiasts. The Company also operates book clubs, conferences, trade shows, interactive media, and education programs, all focused on the same core categories where the magazines and book publishing programs specialize. For more information, go to: www.fwpublications.com