What was started in 1945 as a small, one-machine, printing shop on Evangelista St., Quiapo, Manila by a budding lawyer-accountant named Ceferino Mungcal Picache, has turned into a multimillion publishing and printing enterprise: BOOKMAN, INC. Through the painstaking work-partnership of husband and wife Ceferino and Patrocinio Santos-Picache, Bookman grew steadily through the years. Mrs. Picache was a public school teacher, who after 20 years, gave up teaching to help her husband.
In 1945, right after the war, Ceferino put up a small printing shop on España St. A year later, he moved his shop to Evangelista St., Quiapo and the following year acquired a lot on Azcarraga (now C.M. Recto). Here he expanded his printing business by opening a bookstore in front of the building. In 1952 Atty. Picache purchased a bigger property along Quezon Avenue, Quezon City, where the 5-storey Bookman Building now stands.
Atty. and Mrs. Picache acquired a number of printing machinery after Ceferino made a trip to the U.S.A. where he was able to obtain a franchise in the printing of Walt Disney Comics. Mrs. Picache then started the publication of the Philippine School Life, a magazine for schoolchildren, followed by the Filipino Teacher, a magazine for teachers. The company grew from a one-machine, three-men staff to a substantial one with a complete line of modern printing equipment imported from the U.S.A. and Europe for the printing of books and other commercial print materials.
BOOKMAN is one of the pioneers in the production of school materials such as books, magazines and even sporting goods.
Through the years, BOOKMAN has been publishing and printing thousands of titles for the preschool to the college students. Not only did BOOKMAN cater to school needs, it also ventured into the printing of all kinds of print materials -- from simple calling cards, social (greeting) cards, business forms, government publications, industrial packaging, maps, calendars, to volumes and volumes of books.
In 2005, MISSIONBOOK PUBLISHING, INCORPORATED was organized as a sister company of BOOKMAN, INC. Mainly, its objective is to support Bookman, Inc. in the development of textbooks and other learning materials intended for the utilization of the Department of Education and the Department of Interior and Local Government.
Today, BOOKMAN is manned by the younger Picache children. Miguel, the oldest son, became the President until his demise in 1998.
Lina P. Enriquez, with a Bachelor of Science in Education degree from the University of the Philippines and an M.A. degree from Columbia University in New York, handles the Publication Department which takes charge of the development and production of books and other instructional materials.
Marietta P. Martinez, who finished a business administration course and an MBA degree in UCLA, California, is at the helm of the Administration Department.
Reginaldo S. Picache, M.D. serves as the Chairman of the Board.
To date, BOOKMAN, INC. continues to be one of the leading publishers of quality and value-laden books and other educational materials in the country.
