TAN Books

TAN Books
Parent company Saint Benedict Press
Founded 1967
Founder Thomas A. Nelson
Country of origin United States
Headquarters location Charlotte, North Carolina
Key people Conor Gallagher (Publisher)
Publication types Books, Booklets, Prayer cards
Nonfiction topics Catholicism
Imprints Confraternity of the Precious Blood
Neumann Press
American Chesterton Society
Official website www.tanbooks.com

TAN Books is a traditional Catholic American book distributor and publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

History

TAN Books was founded in 1967, as "TAN Books and Publishers," in Rockford, Illinois by Thomas A. Nelson (not to be confused with the founder of the Bible-publishing firm Thomas Nelson) to keep in print books teaching the traditional Catholic faith in the wake of the upheaval in the Church that followed the Second Vatican Council.[1] The company's name was formed from the initials of its founder. Over the next 40 years, TAN published hundreds of new and classic titles on theology, Scripture, Church history, traditional devotions (including St. Louis de Montfort's Secret of the Rosary, printing more than 4 million copies), and the lives of the saints, many of which were reprints of titles published by such notable American Catholic publishers as Benziger Brothers and B. Herder Book Company.

In 1971, TAN republished the Douay–Rheims Bible, which had fallen out of print by the late 1960s, photographically reproducing it from the 1899 John Murphy & Co. edition. In the 1990s, with the advent of computer-based word processing, TAN began re-typesetting many of the titles in its catalog, rather than relying solely upon photographic reproductions of out-of-print works. In 2004, actor and director Mel Gibson's Icon Productions granted TAN the license to publish the Catholic edition of The Passion: Photography from the Movie The Passion of the Christ, a collection of photographs of scenes from the film accompanied with excerpts from the film's screenplay and quotations from the Douay–Rheims.

Financial problems led TAN to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2005. The company was subsequently acquired by Saint Benedict Press in 2008.[2] Following its acquisition, "TAN Books and Publishers" was renamed "TAN Books," with the "TAN" acronym now standing for Tuum Adoramus Nomen (Latin for "Let Us Adore Thy Name"). The company has aimed to improve the quality of its products by commissioning more aesthetically-pleasing covers, employing more durable book construction, and continuing to re-typeset numerous titles in its catalog.

Imprints

  • TAN Books: Publishes reprints of classic Catholic works on theology, Scripture, traditional devotions, the Tridentine Mass, and lives of the saints, as well as new titles on these subjects by contemporary authors and a line of newly-typeset Douay–Rheims Bibles (co-branded with Saint Benedict Press). In addition, the former "Saint Benedict Press Classics" series is now marketed under the "TAN Classics" moniker. TAN has also, in recent years, published resources aimed toward Catholic homeschooling families.
  • Confraternity of the Precious Blood: TAN currently serves as the distributor of reprints of classic works published by members of the Confraternity, such as My Daily Bread and My Imitation of Christ.
  • Neumann Press: Acquired by TAN Books in 2013,[3][4] Neumann Press republishes classic Catholic children's works, history books, and novels aimed at students from primary to secondary school.
  • American Chesterton Society: Since May 2015, TAN Books has been the exclusive distributor of works published by the Society, which specializes in contemporary titles written in the tradition of Catholic philosopher G. K. Chesterton.

Criticism

Since TAN's acquisition by Saint Benedict Press and the end of Nelson's involvement with the company, some traditionalist Catholics have expressed displeasure with TAN due to their perception that the company has abandoned its prior firmly-traditionalist editorial policy in favor of one intended to cater to conservative Catholics who, while doctrinally orthodox, accept the changes in Catholic practice that followed the Second Vatican Council. They cite, among others, the removal from TAN's catalog of works questioning the validity and/or rubrical integrity of the Mass of Paul VI (The Great Sacrilege by Father James Wathen; Liturgical Time Bombs in Vatican II by Michael Davies; The Ottaviani Intervention, translated with commentary by Father Anthony Cekada), works questioning the orthodoxy of the Council itself (In the Murky Waters of Vatican II by Atila Sinke Guimarães), criticism of modern Bible translations (Which Bible Should You Read? by Thomas A. Nelson), as well as works expressing Church teachings that, they claim, conflict with the post-conciliar emphases on ecumenism and religious liberty.

References

  1. ↑ "About TAN". Archived from the original on 1998-12-06.
  2. ↑ Saint Benedict Press
  3. ↑ Jessica (2013-10-23). "Shower of Roses: Tan Books Acquires Neumann Press!". Shower of Roses. Retrieved 2016-07-03.
  4. ↑ TAN Books. "TAN Books Acquires Neumann Press". Retrieved 2016-07-03.

See also

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