Each edition traditionally featured an
atlas, a
gazetteer, a chronological list of events, a list of prominent people (past and present), a miniature encyclopaedia of general information and around a dozen or more other sections on various subjects such as
cinema,
classical mythology,
current events,
wine,
astronomy,
ideas and
beliefs,
gardening,
medicine, etc. The selection of subjects varied slightly over the years, and in later years the world atlas section was dropped, leaving a world and European map inside the front and rear covers and with the Gazetteer limited to the British Isles. From 1953, it was published annually. It was published by
Pelham Books from 1959 to 1988, and from then until the final, 2017 edition by
Penguin Books. During the 1950s, Pears' awarded the
Silver Pears' Trophy annually to a prominent person for "outstanding British achievement in any field." The 2017–2018 edition, released on 31 August 2017, was subtitled "The Final Edition". The publisher confirmed it is the last: According to
The Bookseller, "Statistics from
Nielsen BookScan have also revealed volume sales of the work have sharply declined in recent years: the 2001/02 edition sold 24,229 copies whereas the 2016/17 edition sold only 2,854." Over its history, Pears' had "produced sales over 3 million copies by the 1930s and at least as many since".
The Guardians article on the final edition cites total sales over the last decade (2007–2017) of "more than 120,000", adding that, "according to Penguin, it did particularly well in election years". The final page of the final edition summarizes "The Story of Pears, 1897–2017" and concludes: ==References==