Membership of the Society

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The Penguin Collectors’ Society was founded in 1974 by a small band of enthusiasts meeting in Richmond, Surrey. When the first Newsletter was published, membership stood at 38; today there are over 400 members worldwide.

In 2001 the Society became a charitable company limited by guarantee and in 2002 it was registered as a charity. From 1974 the Society has aimed to encourage and promote the study and collecting, not only of works published by Penguin and by Allen Lane at the heart of the 20th century publishing revolution, but also the works of their contributors and contemporaries. We publish learned, quality books for members and the general public. We assist with the acquisition of archive and historical material relevant to our field, for gift or loan to university libraries and collections where they will be available for educational and research purposes. While many of our members are collectors, to be a private collector has never been a prerequisite for membership. In 1974, Penguin Books asked us to call ourselves the Penguin Collectors’ Society rather than The Penguin Book Society so that there was no implication that we were sponsored by the company. To us a ‘Penguin Collector’ is someone who recognises and encourages others to recognise the essential importance of Penguin books (especially early editions) so they are not simply thrown away. Our concern is that Penguin books were always perceived – even by Allen Lane and the creators of Penguin – as essentially ephemeral, to be read and discarded. We define ‘collecting’ in terms of preservation and conservation.

We are not a fund-raising charity. Our work for public benefit is funded by members’ subscriptions and by sales of our publications, but overwhelmingly in effect by pro bono research, writing, dissemination and other contributions from our members.

Membership  |  Subscriptions  |  Application form

Page last updated: 13 November 2005