Sir Allen Lane was the creator of Penguin Books, which is credited with popularizing high-quality mass-market paperbacks. Paperbacks existed prior to Penguin, but they were often poorly made or had trashy subject matter. Lane changed all that by publishing literature in paperback form and legitimizing the paperback. One of the ways Lane brought books to non-bookstore locations was the “Penguincubator” — a vending machine he invented in 1937 to dispense his paperbacks. As a result, people could buy books at railway stations, in chain stores, and even on the streets. While the Penguincubator is no longer around, you can still find one in England’s Exeter St. David’s Train Station. It was installed in 2023 in honor of Sir Allen Lane.
