What is a Penguin Classic ?
Martin Yates
This is a slightly updated version of an article which was originally published in “The Penguin Collector”, No. 60 in June 2003 but without the original illustrations. It provides a survey of the various Penguin Classic series for the non specialist collector. Copyright remains with the author.
Introduction
What exactly is a ‘classic’? From Chianti to Coca-Cola, from cars to Classic FM, there is no doubt the word is in widespread, everyday use. And it has proved a popular label for Penguin series as well. For them it means approximately, ‘this book has been around for a while and deserves to be taken seriously’. While there is a strong single brand – what one might term the ‘black majority’ – there are about twenty different examples which, if put together on a bookshelf, would all look quite distinct. They can be put into three main groups: the Pre 1900 group, the Twentieth Century group and ‘Others’. A brief summary of each is given below. They are listed in the order they appeared, and with basic details, in the table at the end.
‘Real’ or Pre-1900 Classics
When a current reader thinks Penguin Classic he or she probably thinks of something with a black cover, while a collector mostly likely thinks first of their predecessor – the ‘Medallion Classics’. These were launched in 1946 with Homer’s Odyssey, translated by E. V. Rieu, the founder and overall editor of the series. They are fully described in the PCS Publication Miscellany 9 which is still in print and can be ordered via our web site. There were 122 titles, all translated, and almost all Penguin firsts. Each has a specially drawn medallion device on the cover. There were eleven colour codes for the different source languages. Then in 1963, shortly before Rieu retired, they went black (the first thus is L122, Three Plays by Racine). Many titles followed under the editorship of Betty Radice. The series prefix changed from L to 044. For background on the Radice years see The Translator’s Art, These essays in her memory were published by Penguin in 1987 (0140 09226 9) but the title is long out of print. In about 1985 there was a re-launch of the Black Classics and there were changes in both style and scope. Colour banding was re-introduced but in a simplified form (red for English, yellow for European languages, purple for Greek and Latin and green for the rest of the world). We can call these ‘the Banded Black’ titles. At the same time small pictures began selectively to appear on the spine. Their scope was extended, titles that had appeared in the English Library (EL/043) and American Library (039) in the sixties and seventies now reappeared in black, but usually retaining their old numbers. And the same thing happened to a few of the Pelican Classics (AC/040 and see below) and pre 1900 poetry (D/042) titles as well. Series numbers became blurred and titles started to appear with an 044 prefix that were originally in modern English. This was all part of the marketing of the Classics ‘Brand’ – there were audio cassettes and later CDs, silk ties and baseball caps (with an ISBN!) and other merchandise and then, that mark of electronic uniqueness – their own web site. Visit www.penguinclassics.com. Unconnected in content but similar in brand image were the Penguin Classics CDs of classical music (first 20 titles, February 1999).
There were a number of Classics Catalogues issued in the 1990’s. The
1996 one celebrates their fifty years and includes a summary of their history
by Steve Hare and a selection of the early medallions. At about the same time
The Penguin 60’s Classics appeared. In the same small format
as had marked Penguin’s sixtieth in 1995 but in black. There were 60
of them and they exist as a boxed set. Note that when Sixties were remaindered
in boxes they were often called Classics – but they were only sometimes
black. More obscure are some Classics published in India. These look like
Classics with green bands but have main series numbers.
And now, beginning in 2003, we have the latest offering, the handsome ‘New
Black’ classics with a characteristic white band. Collectors’
items for a future generation perhaps. According to a newspaper article at
the time of their launch there are about 850 classics in print with a new
one coming out, on average, every week.
Classics of the Twentieth Century
It was in 1961 that Penguin launched Penguin Modern Classics, describing them thus:
‘This new series is intended to bring the very best of modern literature to the reading public. Many are books that people have heard about but now find out of print or difficult to obtain. Others are classics which are only just coming to be recognised as classics. And others have appeared in the old Penguin fiction covers’.
It was a way of re-presenting the more distinguished authors already on their lists. The series does not have its own prefix – they have main series numbers. The prevailing cover style is silver grey but some early titles are in orange and black, while from about 1985 they were restyled in orange, black and white with, for some, PMC on the spine. Starting only with novels their scope was later extended to include plays, poetry and some non-fiction. They were successful and most of us will have some in our bookshelves if not in our collections. There are at about 500 of them.
In 1990 there was a significant change. They were replaced by Twentieth Century Classics. These are pale green and mostly in the larger ‘B’ format. They have their own series prefix of 018. There are several hundred titles. To quote the 1992/93 catalogue:
‘A wonderfully rich and varied mixture, of tragedy and comedy, of poetry and prose, with some fact and more fiction. All have bravely stood the test of time in the most volatile and productive century of publishing’.
They were supported by audio books and merchandise. There is one known 20th Century Classic in Penguin 60 format – an extract from Nabokov’s Lolita.
Then, with the new century, came another re-launch, the ‘Silver Classics’, reviving the Modern Classics name (though many have ‘Penguin Classics’ on the spine) but continuing the 018 prefix (which has ‘overflowed’ into 118). And thus ‘in all good bookshops’ they are today.
Other Classics Series
A varied lot, at least ten of them. Illustrated Classics were by far the earliest and also the least successful. Just ten titles appeared in 1938. They had quite distinguished woodcuts or engravings but, though other titles were planned, they did not find favour. They are fully described in PCS publication Miscellany 5 (now out of print). The next ‘other’, Pelican Classics, had little more success. They were launched in 1968 and concentrated on works of politics, philosophy, history and economics. They look like Pelicans but have their own prefix of AC (later 040). They lasted until 1974 and there are thirty something titles. For background on their rise and fall see The Translator’s Art referenced above. The ‘other others’ are of more recent date. Puffin Classics started in 1982 and re-present the old favourites in the children’s market. They started with an 035 prefix and the first title was Jack London’s Call of the Wild. There is a characteristic ‘set of squares’ cover design. More recently there have been Puffin and Young Puffin Modern Classics. The back covers tell us they:
‘highlight the most successful and enduring popular stories published for children in recent years’.
Watership Down, first a Puffin in 1973, became a B format Puffin Modern Classic in 1993. For a time in the 1980’s Virago Modern Classics appeared with a Penguin logo and ISBN, they are green and the prefix is 016. Popular Classics were another recycling job. Penguin’s answer to Wordsworth’s challenge that Penguin no longer sold cheap paperbacks. They have buff covers and an 062 prefix. They started in 1994 and were quite numerous – and cheap. Another 1990’s phenomenon was the repro Classic Crime series, the old names reappear in their old green and white livery – but, alas, at modern prices. These are known in boxed sets from Past Times shops. Much more distinguished are three linked ‘Classic Penguin’ series which appeared in 2000: Classic History, Classic Military History and Classic Biography. They have smart black, gold and/or red covers and a motif on the spine. They are described in Issue 54 of the Penguin Collector. They are still going, though some titles have been remaindered.
Conclusion
To sum up, ‘the Classics Story’ gives both varied scope for collectors while remaining very much alive. The Penguin Collectors’ Society has documented the early years in some detail, but all that has happened in the last ten years remains to be analysed. Hence there are several questions marks in the table below. Meanwhile what constitutes a classic continues to change. I recently noticed the novels of Ian Fleming and Raymond Chandler had both appeared as Silver Classics. One hardly feels Allen Lane or E. V. Rieu would have approved.
| Title | Dates | Number Issued | Prefix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illustrated | 1938 | 10 | C |
| ‘Medallion’ | 1946 – 1962 | 122 | L |
| ‘Old Black’ | 1963 – 1985 | c. 250 | L & 044 |
| Modern | 1961 – 1990 | c. 500 | None |
| Pelican | 1968 – 1974 | c. 32 | AC & 040 |
| Puffin | 1982 | 150+ | 035 then 036 |
| ‘Banded Black’ | 1985 – 2003 | c. 500 | 039, 042, 043, 044 |
| Virago Modern | c. 1985 | Few? | 016 |
| Twentieth Century | 1990 – 2000 | 200+ | 018 |
| Crime | c. 1990 | ? | None |
| ‘Indian Green Banded’ | 1990’s | Few? | None |
| Puffin Modern | 1990’s | ? | 13n |
| Young Puffin Modern | 1990’s | ? | 13n |
| Popular | 1994+ | 100+ | 062 |
| Sixties | 1996 | 60 | 6 |
| ‘Silver’ Modern | 2000+ | Ongoing | 118 |
| History | 2000+ | Ongoing | 139 |
| Military History | 2000+ | Ongoing | 139 |
| Biography | 2000+ | Ongoing | 139 |
| ‘New Black’ | 2003+ | Ongoing | 039, 042, 043, 044 |
My thanks to Ian Daley for shining some light into some corners of this table.
Research continues.
Page last updated: 2 February 2005