Victor Appleton 1910—1941

Victor Appleton was used as a pseudonym by the Stratemeyer Syndicate, most famous for being associated with the Tom Swift series of books. Created by Edward Stratemeyer, the Stratemeyer Syndicate was the first book packager to have its books aimed at children, rather than adults. The Syndicate was so successful that at one time it was believed that the overwhelming majority of the books children read were from the Stratemeyer Syndicate. Stratemeyer’s business acumen was in realizing that there was a huge, untapped market for children’s books. At a time when most children’s books were aimed at moral instruction, the Syndicate specialized in producing books that were meant primarily to be entertaining. In founding the Stratemeyer Syndicate, Edward Stratemeyer aimed to produce books in an efficient, assembly-line fashion and to write them in such a way as to maximize their popularity, which they did with great success.