Penguin First Editions :: Early First Edition Penguin Books

Alhtough the non-fiction series of Pelicans contained many seminal works, including history and science, the term 'Reference Books' was used to mean books to which you could refer - such as dictionaries and encyclopaedias. Probably the first Reference book produced by Penguin was S48 The Penguin Political Dictionary intended as 'An ABC of International Affairs' it was compiled by Walter Theimer in December 1939 and Published as A Penguin Special in January 1940. This was followed in April 1943 by another Penguin Special, S111, A Dictionary of Science by E. B. Uvarov.

A Dictionary of Science became the first of the REFERENCE BOOKS series when it was published in 1944 under a new series as R1. Penguin Reference Books became highly respected at a time when dictionaries and encyclopaedias, published in hard covers, were very expensive. No further titles were issued until after the war when, in September 1949, R2 appeared as A Dictionary of Geography by W. G. Moore. Although the first book R1 was 'Rust' coloured, the series was produced in what became the well known bright red covers of the Reference Books series.

Information and cover photographs of Penguin Reference Books Series:

Number: R1	Series No.: R1 Title: A DICTIONARY OF SCIENCE Definitions and Explanations of Terms used in Chemistry, Physics, and Elementary Mathematics Author: E. B. Uvarov Illustrations: 15 figures in text Date Published: 1944 Pages: 192pp. Printer: Richard Clay and Co Ltd Price: 9d. Second image of revised 3rd Edition by Alan Isaacs, 1964 Authors: E. B. Uvarov and D. R. Chapman Cover Design: Fletcher/Forbes/Gill Pages: 336pp. Printer: Cox and Wyman Ltd Price: 5/-
Number: R2	Series No.: R2 Title: A DICTIONARY OF GEOGRPAHY Author: W. G. Moore Illustrations: diagrams (apart from map projections) drawn by C. R. Patrickson Date Published: September 1949 Pages: 184pp. Printer: Hunt, Barnard and Co Ltd Price: 1/6d.
Number: R3	Series No.: R3 Title: A DICTIONARY OF BIOLOGY Authors: M. Abercrombie, C. J. Hickman and M. L. Johnson Illustrations: 10 figures in text Date Published: February 1951 Pages: 256pp. Printer: Hunt, Barnard and Co Ltd Price: 2/-
Number: R4	Series No.: R4 Title: A DICTIONARY OF MUSIC Author: Robert Illing Illustrations: figures in text Date Published: December 1950 Pages: 320pp. Printer: C. Nicholls and Co Ltd Price: 2/6d.
Number: R5	Series No.: R5 Title: A DICTIONARY OF PSYCHOLOGY Author: James Drever Date Published: January 1952 Pages: 320pp. Printer: C. Nicholls and Co Ltd Price: 3/6d.
Number: R6	Series No.: R6 Title: AN ENGLISH-GERMAN - GERMAN-ENGLISH DICTIONARY Compiled: by W. E. Collinson and H. Connell Date Published: February 1954 Pages: 576pp Printer: William Clowes and Sons Ltd Price: 5/-
Number: R7	Series No.: R7 Title: ROGET'S THESARUS OF ENGLISH WORDS AND PHRASES Author: Peter Mark Roget Date Published: October 1953 Pages: 586pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 5/-
Number: R8	Series No.: R8 Title: A DICTIONARY OF GEOLOGY Author: G. W. Himus Illustrations: 16 pages of photographic plates; figures in text Date Published: January 1955 Pages: 156pp. + 16pp. Printer: Waterlow and Sons Ltd; Cologravure plates by Harrison and Sons Ltd Price: 2/-
Number: R9	Series No.: R9 Title: A DICTIONARY OF BALLET Author: G. B. L. Wilson Illustrations: 31 photographs on 16 pages; figures in text Date Published: October 1957 Pages: 288pp. + 16pp. Printer: The Whitefriars Press Ltd Price: 5/-
Number: R10	Series No.: R10 Title: A DICTIONARY OF POLITICS Authors: Florence Elliott and Michael Summerskill Date Published: February 1957 Pages: 336pp. Printer: Unwin Brothers Ltd Price: 4/-
Number: R11	Series No.: R11 Title: A DICTIONARY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Author: John S. Scott Illustrations: figures in text Date Published: October 1958 Pages: 424pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 5/-
Number: R12	Series No.: R12 Title: A NEW DICTIONARY OF MUSIC Author: Arthur Jacobs Date Published: August 1958 Pages: 416pp. Printer: William Clowes and Sons Ltd Price: 5/-
Number: R13	Series No.: R13 Title: THE PENGUIN DICTIONARY OF ARCHITECTURE Authors: John Fleming, Hugh Honour and Nikolaus Pevsner Illustrations: 86 figures in text Cover illustration: shows Temple of Hera at Aagrigentum (Snark International) Date Published: January 1966 Pages: 256pp. Printer: Richard Clay (The Chaucer Press) Ltd Price: 8/6d.
Number: R14	Series No.: R14 Title: A DICTIONARY OF ART AND ARTISTS Author: Peter and Linda Murray Date Published: July 1959 Pages: 358pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 5/-
Number: R15	Series No.: R15 Title: A DICTIONARY OF BUILDING Author: John S. Scott Illustrations: by Clifford Baylis; figures in text Date Published: March 1964 Pages: 368pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 6/-
Number: R16	Series No.: R16 Title: THE PENGUIN DICTIONARY OF QUOTATIONS Compiled: by J. M. and M. J. Cohen Date Published: September 1960 Pages: 666pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 10/6d.
Number: R17	Series No.: R17 Title: WORLD EVENTS: THE ANNUAL REGISTER OF THE YEAR 1959 Edited: by Ivison Macadam; Assistant Editor - Margaret Cleeve Date Published: August 1960 Pages: 614pp. Printer: Ysel Press Ltd Price: 10/-
Number: R18	Series No.: R18 Title: A DICTIONARY OF SAILING Author: F. H. Burgess Illustrations: 4 pages of flags in colour; 19 figures in text Date Published: September 1961 Pages: 238pp. + 4pp. Printer: Hunt, Barnard and Co Ltd Price: 3/6d.
Number: R19	Series No.: R19 Title: A DICTIONARY OF ELECTRONICS Author: S. Handel Illustrations: 161 figures in text Date Published: September 1962 Pages: 390pp. Printer: Cox and Wyman Ltd Price: 7/6d.
Number: R20	Series No.: R20 Title: THE PENGUIN RUSSIAN COURSE - A complete course for beginners Compiled: by J. L. I. Fennell Date Published: September 1961 Pages: 360pp. Printer: William Clowes and Sons Ltd Price: 5/-
Number: R21	Series No.: R21 Title: THE PENGUIN DICTIONARY OF BRITISH NATURAL HISTORY Authors: Richard and Maisie Fitter Illustrations: figures in text Cover illustration: by Charles Raymond Date Published: April 1967 Pages: 352pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 8/6d.
Number: R22	Series No.: R22 Title: WORLD EVENTS: THE ANNUAL REGISTER OF THE YEAR 1960 Edited: by Ivison Macadam; Assistant Editor - Margaret Cleeve Date Published: September 1961 Pages: 600pp. Printer: Ysel Press Ltd Price: 10/-
Number: R23	Series No.: R23 Title: WORLD EVENTS: THE ANNUAL REGISTER OF THE YEAR 1961 Edited: by Ivison Macadam; Assisted by Margaret Cleeve Date Published: July 1962 Pages: 600pp. Printer: Ysel Press Ltd Price: 15/-
Number: R24	Series No.: R24 Title: USAGE AND ABUSAGE: A GUIDE TO GOOD ENGLISH Author: Eric Partridge Date Published: April 1963 Pages: 384pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 7/6d.
Number: R25	Series No.: R25 Title: THE PENGUIN BOOK OF LIEDER Edited: and translated by S. S. Prawer Date Published: April 1964 Pages: 208pp. Printer: Richard Clay and Co Ltd Price: 7/6d.
Number: R26	Series No.: R26 Title: A DICTIONARY OF MODERN HISTORY 1789 - 1945 Author: A. W. Palmer Date Published: January 1964 Pages: 368pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 5/-
Number: R27	Series No.: R27 Title: A SHAKESPEARE COMPANION 1564 - 1964 Author: F. E. Halliday Date Published: May 1964 Pages: 576pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 10/6d. This book was later published in the penguin Shakespeare Library as SL11
Number: R28	Series No.: R28 Title: THE PENGUIN DICTIONARY OF ASTRONOMY Author: Ake Wallenquist Illustrations: 16 pages of photographic plates; 89 figures in text Date Published: January 1968 Pages: 240pp. + 16pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 7/6d.
Number: R29	Series No.: R29 Title: THE PENGUIN ENGLISH DICTIONARY Compiled: by G. N. Garmonsway with Jacqueline Simpson Cover design: by Keith Whitehead Date Published: August 1965 Pages: 816pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 12/6d.
Number: R30	Series No.: R30 Title: THE PENGUIN DICTIONARY OF SAINTS Author: Donald Attwater Cover illustration: shows detail of St Jerome from a late 14th Century Bible, in the British Museum Date Published: April 1965 Pages: 368pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 6/- Image of 1966 reprint
Number: R31	Series No.: R31 Title: THE PENGUIN ENCYCLOPEDIA Edited: by Sir John Summerscale Date Published: October 1965 Pages: 648pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd (printed in Britain for USA) Price: $2.25 (US cover); 12/6d (overstuck)
Number: R32	Series No.: R32 Title: THE PENGUIN DICTIONARY OF SURNAMES Author: Basil Cottle Cover design: by Mel Calman and Graham Bishop Date Published: September 1967 Pages: 336pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 6/-
Number: R33	Series No.: R33 Title: THE PENGUIN DICTIONARY OF THEATRE Author: John Russell Taylor Cover design: by Germano Facetti Date Published: August 1966 Pages: 296pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 5/-
Number: R34	Series No.: R34 Title: THE PENGUIN COMPANION TO LITERATURE Vol. 1 (BRITISH AND COMMONWEALTH LITERATURE) Edited: by David Daiches Cover design: by Germano Facetti Date Published: 1971 Pages: 576pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: £1.00
Number: R35	Series No.: R35 Title: THE PENGUIN COMPANION TO LITERATURE Vol. 2 (EUROPEAN LITERATURE) Edited: by Anthony Thorlby Cover design: by Romek Marber Date Published: February 1969 Pages: 912pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: £1.00 20/- Volumes 2 (R35) and 4 (R37) were subsequently re-published in 1971 as a complete set of Volumes 1-4, with covers designed by Germano Facetti. Second image shows 1971 printing, cover designed by Germano Facetti, and priced at £1.25. Thanks to Mark Steinhardt for the additional information.
Number: R36	Series No.: R36 Title: THE PENGUIN COMPANION TO LITERATURE Vol. 3 (UNITED STATES AND LATIN AMERICAN LITERATURE) Edited: United States by Malcolm Bradbury and Eric Mottram; and Latin America by Jean Franco Cover design: by Germano Facetti Date Published: 1971 Pages: 386pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 75p
Number: R37	Series No.: R37 Title: THE PENGUIN COMPANION TO LITERATURE Vol. 4 (CLASSICAL AND BYZANTINE, ORIENTAL AND AFRICAN LITERATURE) Edited: Classical and Byzantine by D. R. Dudley; and Oriental and African by D. M. Lang Cover design: by Romek Marber Date Published: February 1969 Pages: 368pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 50p 10/- Volumes 2 (R35) and 4 (R37) were subsequently re-published in 1971 as a complete set of Volumes 1-4, with covers designed by Germano Facetti. Second image shows 1971 printing, cover designed by Germano Facetti, and priced at 75p Thanks to Mark Steinhardt for the additional information.
Number: R38	Series No.: R38 Title: THE PENGUIN DICTIONARY OF MODERN QUOTATIONS Author: J. M. and M. J. Cohen Cover design: by Alan Spain Date Published: 1971 Pages: 370pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 50p 10/-
Number: R39	Series No.: R39 Title: A DICTIONARY OF COMPUTERS Edited: by Anthony Chandor; Associate Editors: John Graham and Robin Williamson Cover design: by Germano Facetti incorporating a model by Mike Pope Date Published: February 1970 Pages: 416pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 50p 10/-
Number: R40	Series No.: R40 Title: ASIA HANDBOOK Edited: by Guy Wint Illustrations: with map Cover design: by Ian Escott Date Published: August 1969 Pages: 736pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 80p 16/-
Number: R41	Series No.: R41 Title: AFRICA HANDBOOK Edited: by Colin Legum Illustrations: with maps Cover design: by Ian Escott Date Published: September 1969 Pages: 688pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 80p 16/-
Number: R42	Series No.: R42 Title: DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN POLITICS Author: Eugene J. McCarthy Cover design: by George Klauber Note: American Edition only Date Published: April 1968 Pages: 196pp. Price: $1.25
Number: R43	Series No.: R43 Title: PENGUIN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PEOPLE Authors: Barry Jones and M. Vibart Dixon Date Published:
Number: R44	Series No.: R44 Title: THE PENGUIN DICTIONARY OF COMMERCE Author: Michael Greener Cover design: by Martin Causer Date Published: 1970 Pages: 352pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 60p (1974) Image of 1974 reprint
Number: R45	Series No.: R45 Title: THE PENGUIN DICTIONARY OF ARCHAEOLOGY Author: David Trump and Warwick Bray Illustrations: drawings by Judith Newcomer; 211 figures in text Cover design: by Alan Spain Date Published: 1972 Pages: 288pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 60p Image of 1973 reprint
Number: R46	Series No.: R46 Title: A DICTIONARY OF HISTORICAL SLANG Author: Eric Partridge Abridged: by Jacqueline Simpson Cover design: by Mel Calman and Philip Thompson Date Published: 1972 Pages: 1072pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: £1.25
Number: R47	Series No.: R47 Title: THE PENGUIN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PLACES Author: W. G. Moore Cover design: by Germano Facetti shows painting by Barry Evans Date Published: 1971 Pages: 840pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: £1.00 20/-
Number: R48	Series No.: R48 Title: PENGUIN MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA Author: Peter Wingate Cover design: by Germano Facetti shows a detail from a 1828 Atlas of myology by Edward Tuson Date Published: 1972 Pages: 472pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 60p
Number: R49	Series No.: R49 Title: THE PENGUIN DICTIONARY OF GEOLOGY Author: D. G. A. Whitten with J. R. V. Brooks Cover: photograph by Alan Spain and Nelson Christmas Date Published: 1972 Pages: 520pp. Printer: Price:
Number: R51	Series No.: R51 Title: THE PENGUIN DICTIONARY OF ECONOMICS Authors: Graham Bannock, R. E. Baxter and Ray Rees Date Published: 1972 Pages: 452pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 50p
Number: R52	Series No.: R52 Title: A CRITICAL DICTIONARY OF PSYCHOANALYSIS Author: Charles Rycroft Cover design: by André François Date Published: 1972 Pages: 190pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 35p
Number: R53	Series No.: R53 Title: FACTS IN FOCUS Compiled: Central Statistical Office Cover design: by 'Diagram' Date Published: 1972 Pages: 224pp. Printer: Richard Clay and Co Ltd Price: 50p
Number: R54	Series No.: R54 Title: THE PENGUIN ATLAS OF WORLD HISTORY, VOLUME ONE - from the Beginning to the Eve of the French Revolution Authors: Hermann Kinder and Werner Hilgemann Translated: by Ernest A Menze Illustrated: maps designed by Harald and Ruth Bukor Date Published: 1974 Pages: 304pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: £1.00
Number: R55	Series No.: R55 Title: WHO'S WHO IN THE ANCIENT WORLD Selected: and with an introduction by Betty Radice Illustrated: with 56 black-and-white photographic plates on 32 pages Cover design: by Omnific Date Published: 1973 Pages: 336pp. + 32pp. Printer: Richard Clay and Co Ltd Price: 60p
Number: R56	Series No.: R56 Title: THE PENGUIN SHORTER ATLAS OF THE BIBLE Author: Lucas H. Grollenberg Translated: from the Dutch by Mary F. Hedlund Cover: shows The Sinai Desert, photograph by Eric Lessing Date Published: 1978 Pages: 272pp (incl. 12pp illustrations) Printer: Price:
Number: R58	Series No.: R58 Title: CHRONOLOGY OF THE MODERN WORLD 1763-1965 Author: Neville Williams Cover design: by Omnific Date Published: 1975 Pages: 1,024pp. Printer: Richard Clay and Co Ltd Price: £1.95
Number: R59	Series No.: R59 Title: THE PENGUIN WORLD ATLAS Geographic Editor: Peter Hall Illustrated: by the Cartographic Department of the Clarenden Press Date Published: 1974 Pages: 266pp. Printer: Cook Hammond and Kell Ltd Price: £1.50
Number: R61	Series No.: R61 Title: THE PENGUIN ATLAS OF WORLD HISTORY, VOLUME TWO - from the French Revolution to the Present Authors: Hermann Kinder and Werner Hilgemann Translated: by Ernest A Menze Illustrated: maps designed by Harald and Ruth Bukor Date Published: 1978 Pages: 328pp. Printer: BPCC Hazell Books Ltd Price: £7.99
Number: R63	Series No.: R63 Title: A HANDBOOK OF MANAGEMENT Edited: by Thomas Kempner Cover design: by Martin Causer Date Published: 1976 Pages: 448pp. Printer: Price:
Number: R64	Series No.: R64 Title: THE CONCISE CAMBRIDGE ITALIAN DICTIONARY Author: Barbara Reynolds Cover design: Date Published: 1975 Pages: 872pp. Printer: Price: temporary image
Number: R70	Series No.: R70 Title: THE INTERNATIONAL THESAURUS OF QUOTATIONS Author: Rhoda Thomas Tripp Cover design: Date Published: 1976 Pages: 1104pp. Printer: Price: temporary image
Number: R71	Series No.: R71 Title: THE PENGUIN DICTIONARY OF PHYSICS Edited: by Valerie H. Pitt Cover design: Date Published: 1977 Pages: 432pp. Printer: Price:
Number: R72	Series No.: R72 Title: MIND THE STOP: A Brief Guide to Punctuation with a Note on Proof-correction Author: Gordon Vero Carey Cover design: Date Published: 1976 Pages: 128pp. Printer: Price: temporary image
Number: R74	Series No.: R74 Title: THE NEW PENGUIN DICTIONARY OF ELECTRONICS Author: E. Carol Young Cover design: by Pentagram Date Published: 1979 Pages: 624pp. Printer: Price: temporary image
Number: R75	Series No.: R75 Title: ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MOUNTAINEERING Author: Walt Unsworth Cover design: Date Published: 1977 Pages: 416pp. (incl. 16pp of illustrations) Printer: Price: temporary image
Number: R76	Series No.: R76 Title: THE PENGUIN ATLAS OF WORLD POPULATION HISTORY Authors: Colin McEvedy and Richard Jones Cover: illustration by Michael Foreman Date Published: 1978 Pages: 368pp. Printer: Price: temporary image
Number: R82	Series No.: R82 Title: THE PENGUIN DICTIONARY OF DECORATIVE ARTS Author: John Fleming and Hugh Honour Cover illustration: shows a Meissen bantam cock c.1732 after Japanese originals (photo: Christie's London) Date Published: 1977 Pages: 896pp. Printer: G. A. Pinder and Son Ltd Price: £4.95
Number: R84	Series No.: R84 Title: THE PENGUIN DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH AND EUROPEAN HISTORY, 1485 - 1789 Author: E. N. Williams Cover design: Date Published: 1980 Pages: 512pp. Printer: Price: temporary image
Number: R83	Series No.: R83 Title: THE PENGUIN ATLAS OF AFRICAN HISTORY Author: Colin McEvedy Cover illustration: shows a tracing made by Patricia Vinnicombe of a Lesotho rock-shelter painting Designed: by Keith Burns Date Published: 1980 Pages: 144pp. Printer: published in Hong Kong Price: £5.99
Number: R89	Series No.: R89 Title: THE PENGUIN DICTIONARY OF DESIGN AND DESIGNERS Author: Simon Jervis Cover design: by Carroll and Dempsey Ltd Date Published: 1984 Pages: 536pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: £4.95
Number: R96	Series No.: R96 Title: THE NEW PENGUIN WORLD ATLAS Edited: by Peter Hall Illustration: 72 pages of colour maps Compiled and drawn: by Oxford University Press Cover design: not given Date Published: 1979 Pages: 104pp. Printer: Cook Hammond and Kell Ltd (colour maps), Cambridge University Press (monochrome), Henry Brooks Ltd (binding) Price: £2.50
Number: R99	Series No.: R99 Title: THE PENGUIN CONCISE DICTIONARY OF BIOGRAPHICAL QUOTATION Edited: by Justin Wintle and Richard Kenin Cover design: not given Date Published: 1981 Pages: 720pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: £3.95
Number: R100	Series No.: R100 Title: THE PENGUIN DICTIONARY OF MICROPROCESSORS Author: Anthony Chandor Cover design: photograph by Chris Yates Date Published: 1981 Pages: 192pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: £2.25 temporary image

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