Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln ("Max") Schuster.
It is one of the four largest English language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin, and HarperCollins. Crossword puzzles first appeared in the New York World in 1913, and soon became a popular feature in newspapers. In 1924, Simon's aunt, a crossword puzzle devotee, asked Simon whether there was a book of these puzzles that she could give to a friend.
Simon discovered that none had been published, and, with Schuster, launched a company to exploit the opportunity. Their first book was marketed cleverly. To attract attention, it came with a pencil attached .
The advertising campaign implied that it was about to become a new fad: