Founded in 1928 by Peter Beilenson, the press was originally run with his wife, Edna, and focused on printing and publishing classic books.
The press expanded into giftware and collectors items, and has continued to be run by multiple generations of the Beilenson family.
[4][6] Beilenson began the imprint "The Blue-Behinded Ape" that same year, to be used occasionally for works he deemed too “unrespectable” to be printed under the Peter Pauper name, including erotica.
[3][4] The relative affordability of their books allowed fine press works to be accessed by the wider public.
[9] During their time, at least 304 titles were published, 46 appeared in AIGA's Fifty Books list, and 16 were included as part of the Limited Editions Club.
Around the time of their move, the Peter Pauper donated some of their equipment to State University of New York's Division of Visual Arts and their printing center.