How to identify a first printing
- For reprint titles, firsts are flagged "First published [elsewhere/date]" with the Penguin printing noted as "Published in Penguin Books [Year]" — the FIRST PENGUIN PRINTING is identified by 'Published in Penguin Books [year]' with no later Penguin reprint line
- Penguin paperback originals: first printing identified by the dated 'Published... [year]' line and absence of a 'Reprinted' line
- Modern Penguin uses descending number lines ending in 1; lowest digit = printing
- Penguin numbering/series numbers (the historic Penguin number) and cover-design generation help date early printings
Notable points & cautions
- Penguin is overwhelmingly a REPRINT publisher — a 'Penguin first edition' is usually NOT the true first edition of the work (the hardcover elsewhere is); collectors must distinguish 'first Penguin printing' from 'first edition'
- The 1960 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' Penguin (the obscenity-trial edition) is a notable collected printing with its own points
- Allen Lane (hardcover imprint) and Viking are where Penguin-group TRUE firsts appear
- Early Penguins are collected by series number and cover generation rather than edition statements
Imprints
First editions also appear under: Penguin, Pelican, Puffin (children's), Penguin Classics, Penguin Modern Classics, Allen Lane (hardcover), Viking (UK sibling), Ladybird. Each generally follows the house convention above.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my Penguin Books book is a first edition?
Check the copyright page. For reprint titles, firsts are flagged "First published [elsewhere/date]" with the Penguin printing noted as "Published in Penguin Books [Year]" — the FIRST PENGUIN PRINTING is identified by 'Published in Penguin Books [year]' with no later Penguin reprint line Penguin paperback originals: first printing identified by the dated 'Published... [year]' line and absence of a 'Reprinted' line
Does Penguin Books use a number line?
Penguin paperback originals: first printing identified by the dated 'Published... [year]' line and absence of a 'Reprinted' line
Is a book-club edition a Penguin Books first edition?
No. Book-club editions reprint the text but are not the true first edition. Penguin is overwhelmingly a REPRINT publisher — a 'Penguin first edition' is usually NOT the true first edition of the work (the hardcover elsewhere is); collectors must distinguish 'first Penguin printing' from 'first edition'
What era does this cover?
This covers Penguin Books (1935-present). Conventions changed over time, so confirm the era of your copy.
Penguin Books titles with documented first-edition points
Each link opens that title’s specific points of issue — the exact marks that separate a true first printing from a later one.
- A Column of Fire (Ken Follett, 2017)
- A Dark-Adapted Eye (Barbara Vine (Ruth Rendell), 1986)
- A Family Affair (Rex Stout, 1975)
- A Fatal Inversion (Barbara Vine (Ruth Rendell), 1987)
- A Place of Greater Safety (Hilary Mantel, 1992)
- A Political Fable (Robert Coover, 1980)
- A Right to Die (Rex Stout, 1964)
- A Shooting Star (Wallace Stegner, 1961)
- A View from the Bridge (Arthur Miller, 1955)
- Adam of the Road (Elizabeth Janet Gray, 1942)
- After the Fall (Arthur Miller, 1964)
- Against the Day (Thomas Pynchon, 2006)
- Agapē Agape (William Gaddis, 2002)
- Agency (William Gibson, 2020)
- Airman (Eoin Colfer, 2008)
- All the Little Live Things (Wallace Stegner, 1967)
- An Enemy of the People (adaptation of Ibsen) (Arthur Miller, 1951)
- And Be a Villain (UK: More Deaths Than One) (Rex Stout, 1948)
- And Four to Go (UK: Crime and Again) (Rex Stout, 1958)
- Artemis Fowl (Eoin Colfer, 2001)
- Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident (Eoin Colfer, 2002)
- Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex (Eoin Colfer, 2010)
- Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code (Eoin Colfer, 2003)
- Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian (Eoin Colfer, 2012)
Documenting 232 Penguin Books titles in all — browse the full title-by-title library →