Penguin Collectors Society

The Penguin Companion

New 2006 Edition

The Penguin CompanionThe Penguin Collectors Society are pleased to announce the new edition of The Penguin Companion. Unlike our more specialist publications, this will appeal to all students of the Penguin phenomenon and is an essential work of reference.

“A significant paperback about the twentieth-century’s most significant paperbacks.”

Between the covers

  • A ‘B format’ paperback with a ‘Penguin Reference’ style red cover. 250 pages. ISBN 0 9527401 8 4.
  • Over 700 ‘*A to Z*’ entries on all things Penguin, many embellished with black and white illustrations. There are also 20 extended entries on significant parts of the Penguin story (Lady Chatterley, Puffin Books etc.)
  • An ‘*Identification Guide*’ containing nearly 300 illustrations in colour of Penguin covers organised by timescale or theme. Just about all the popular series appear along with some notable rarities.
  • A ‘*Reference Guide*’ listing the main sources, a series index and a list of titles in two of the most sought after series.

I would like a copy

  • If you decide to join the PCS in 2006 this will be included as part of your members’ free publications for the year.
  • If you decide to join the PCS from January 1 2007 you will have the option of buying the new Companion at a special introductory price of £10.
  • If you are a visitor to our website you can order a copy either by sending us a cheque or by using our PayPal credit card facility. For details go to our publications page. The price is £15 (including UK postage).

Past, present and future

Our first Companion appeared in 1992/3 in two modest parts. This was replaced in June 1997 by The Penguin Collector’s Companion_, our bestselling ‘little red book’. It had about 400 entries and was compiled, like the original, by Russell Edwards. A small supplement (’_Penguinfo‘) was issued in June 2003. The new edition builds on Russell’s good work and much of his text has been retained. This new Companion for the new century will we hope, in its turn, evolve (see also Feedback below). The first Companion was conceived on a typewriter and the 1997 edition was compiled using an already elderly Mac. While we have moved with the times, the new one is still a traditional book in that it is not built from a database. Nor at present do we have plans for an e-book or CD-ROM version. But such developments are possible. As with all our publications, its future is in the hands of our membership, now and tomorrow.

Feedback

Well, what do you think? The new Companion covers a very wide area at quite small scale and will overlap with many members’ specialities. Please let us know if you find our new publication useful and whether you can offer any clarifications or corrections. The email address for enquiries and comments is companion@penguincollectorssociety.org. We will try to acknowledge everyone and the most significant contributions and views will be summarised here in a future update.

Any work of reference about a living subject starts to go out of date as soon as it appears. ‘Companion Plus’ is our name for the receptacle for updates (starting with Penguin Collector 66 ) and for any necessary or just useful amendments. What form ‘Companion Plus’ will take is to be decided, a statement will be made at the AGM in September.