Krause Publications

Krause Publications. The Early Days. , A business that was to bring international acclaim to Iola was established at this location on August 18, 1964, with the organization of Krause Publications as a corporate business entity. Over the next 40 years it expanded into numerous other collector hobby and leisure interest communities serving 21 specialized fields, with involvements in the agricultural and building trades as well. The company was publishing 48 periodical titles along with scores of new books and reference catalogs at its peak, with over 900 deadlines annually. Its combined subscriber audiences numbered well in excess of one million annually from 1999 to 2001., Krause Publications got its start when Chester L. Krause, a builder by training and trade following his 1946 return from Army service during World War II, published the October 13, 1952, dated issue of Numismatic News. That first issue was crafted working from a small desk in his bedroom and atop the dining room table in the home of his parents, Carl and Cora Krause, situated two blocks away, on East Iola Street (see Historic Iola No. 3). As that business steadily grew, office environments were established in North Main Street storefront offices, for clerical processing of incoming subscription and advertising mail. , Krause’s last building project was the 1957 construction of this building at 160 North Washington St. (now Chet Krause Drive) to serve as home to what was then a single publication, Numismatic News, then a monthly publication. His workday switched from that of builder to that of publisher. , With the popularity of the publications increasing, the 1,600-square-foot building was expanded in 1960 and 1964 to nearly quadruple its original size to accommodate the growing staffs. In 1975, the company having entered another hobby community with its recent launch of the Old Cars newspaper, a commitment was made to construct a new building on acreage located at 700 East State Street, to consolidate operations which had spread to other locations around town and serve its space needs in the years to come.