In 1839 in Somerset, Charles Dando Purnell set up a printing company, officially known as Purnell and Sons, but also referred to as Purnell Publishing and simply Purnell, which was to become Europe's biggest publishing company. For years it published books, notably bibles, but from the 1960s it also published childrens' annuals, competing with other publishers such as World Distributors for this market. In 1964 they merged with the Hazell Sun to form the British Printing Corporation, but its annuals and many of its childrens' books retained the Purnell name despite this. It continued to grow rapidly in the 1970s, until in 1981 media baron Robert Maxwell took over the company. Though the overall company changed its name again under Maxwell, Purnell's name continued to be seen on annuals for a few more years, before the company went into administration following Maxwell's death in 1991.
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