The story
Founded by Maurice Girodias in 1953, in Paris.1
Private company
Olympia Press
French publisher
Olympia Press was a Paris-based publisher, launched in 1953 by Maurice Girodias as a rebranded version of the Obelisk Press he inherited from his father Jack Kahane. It published a mix of erotic fiction and avant-garde literary fiction, and is best known for issuing the first printed edition of Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita. In its heyday during the mid-fifties Olympia Press specialized in books which could not be published (without legal action) in the English-speaking world.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0
Last updated Oct 21, 2026.
Overview
1953Founded1
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Olympia Press was a Paris-based publisher, launched in 1953 by Maurice Girodias as a rebranded version of the Obelisk Press he inherited from his father Jack Kahane. It published a mix of erotic fiction and avant-garde literary fiction, and is best known for issuing the first printed edition of Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita.2
Leadership
Who has led Olympia Press, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.
- FounderMaurice Girodias1
Timeline
- 1953Founded Founded in Paris1
Links
- WikipediaOlympia Press
- More imagesWikimedia Commons
- WikidataQ532567
Sources
The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.
- 1WikidataOlympia Press on Wikidata
- 2WikipediaOlympia Press on Wikipedia
- 3Wikimedia CommonsOlympia Press photo by Olympia Press, Public domain