Originally journals publisher; first book printed in 1926, but "regular" book publishing did not start until 1950 - the titles were available through direct mail. In 1965 it ventured into science fiction with Frank Herbert's Dune. According to the company's website, the Chilton Publishing Company was founded in 1922 (not 1967 as the DLB states) in West Philadelphia. By 1997, Disney sold the Chilton publishing assets, conference management and market research divisions to a variety of firms, splitting up disparate properties. In 2003, the Thomson Corporation bought the Chilton automotive assets.