Penguin First Editions :: Early First Edition Penguin Books

This page is devoted to Canadian Penguin Books.

Allen Lane looked for opportunities to expand Penguin's markets to other English-speaking nations. Even before he looked to the southern hemisphere and expansion to Australia in August 1940 and New Zealand in 1941, commencing with Penguin Specials, he had already begun ventures in Canada and the U.S.A.

It appears that long before the war he had been thinking about Canada, an English speaking member of the Commonwealth, and how he might develop sales there. The U.S.A. was a different market, with complexities of copyright, where readers could already buy cheap paperbacks from drug-stores. Although print costs were higher than in Britain, transporting them to the USA added costs. He had concerns about competing with American publishers, with bigger print runs and his biases about garish covers. Canada was a slightly different proposition.

There are newspaper advertisements which show that Penguin books were in a 'January Clearance' sale in 1937 in Victoria B.C., so they could well have been on sale from some time in 1936 (before the advent of Pelicans and then Specials) possibly imported via American wholesalers; followed by an advertisement in Vancouver B.C. in January 1938, by which time all three series were available.

Also, it appears that Allen Lane may have come across Col. Wilfrid Bovey, who was director of extra-mural relations at McGill, responsible for the university's extension programme and night courses. Later he would be appointed as national chairman of the Canadian Legion Educational Service with 250,000 enrolled servicemen. For Bovey, the Penguin Specials and Pelicans would have been just the thing required for the education and development of his students. It is probably he who suggested the importation of the non-fiction Penguin paperbacks on a more permanent basis. Penguin Canada is said to have been established by Wilfrid Bovey in Montreal around 1938. Bovey himself wrote a Penguin Special 'S94' The French Canadians Today, published in Britain in July 1942.

The Canadian enterprise thus started before the creation of the US Penguin ventures which began in July 1939 with the Ballantines opening a Penguin office in New York. Very early on, probably in 1938, the business moved on a more formalised basis, establishing a Canadian office at 70 Bond Street, Toronto which housed the offices of Collins publishers. It was from there that the project to produce a series of hardbound books with dust jackets, to be known as the Penguin Special Library Edition began, and the books, using early titles from the Penguin Specials and Pelicans series would have a prefix 'L', hence 'LS' and 'LA' numbers. Since the list includes publications up to January 1939, it must have been produced after that date, with LS15 (which appeared in Britain in April 1939 probably being slipped in at the end of the list prior to publication). The books were printed in Britain, but less is known about how they were bound - whether they were bound in Britain and then exported to Canada, or if bound in Canada. However, the dust jackets with blue stripe bands and Penguin colophon were printed in Canada (and have some typos on the back cover list!).

Background information sources include: Morpurgo's 'Allen Lane King Penguin' (1979); Pearson's 'Penguins March On' (1966); Hare's 'Hard Times in Canada' (2007); and press cutting collected by Lickiss.

We are grateful to Ruth Yeo for promoting the interest in Canadian Penguins and for also providing images and information about some of the books from her personal collection.

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Information and cover photographs of Canadian Penguin Books:

Number: LS1 Original:	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Penguin Special Library Edition LS1 Title: GERMANY PUTS THE CLOCK BACK Author: Edgar Ansel Mowrer Date Published in Britain: 14 November 1937 Pages: 286pp. Printer: Purnell and Sons Ltd Price: 50¢
Number: LS2 Original:	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Penguin Special Library Edition LS2 Title: MUSSOLINI'S ROMAN EMPIRE Author: G. T. Garratt Illustrations: with 5 maps Date Published in Britain: 25 February 1938 Pages: 256pp. Printer: Purnell and Sons Ltd Price: 50¢ [F.L.]
Number: LS3 Original:	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Penguin Special Library Edition LS3 Title: BLACKMAIL OR WAR Author: Geneviève Tabouis Translated: from the French by Paul Selver Illustrations: with 40 drawings by 'Joss' of the Star Date Published in Britain: 25 February 1938 Pages: 256pp. Printer: Purnell and Sons Ltd Price: 50¢
Number: LS4 Original:	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Penguin Special Library Edition LS4 Title: SEARCHLIGHT ON SPAIN Author: Duchess of Atholl Illustrations: with 2 sketch maps of Spain Date Published in Britain: 10 June 1938 Pages: 256pp. Printer: Purnell and Sons Ltd Price: 50¢
Number: LS7 Original:	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Penguin Special Library Edition LS7 Title: CHINA STRUGGLES FOR UNITY Author: J. M. D. Pringle Illustrations: with 24 maps by Marthe Rajchman Date Published in Britain: 17 February 1939 Pages: 192pp. Printer: Purnell and Sons Ltd Price: 50¢
Number: LS8 Original:	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Penguin Special Library Edition LS8 Title: THE AIR DEFENCE OF BRITAIN (Three contributors) Authors: L. E. O. Charlton; G. T. Garratt; R. Fletcher Date Published in Britain: 8 October 1938; reprinted in October 1938 Pages: 224pp. Printer: Wyman and Sons Ltd Price: 50¢ Interestingly there is a spelling mistake of one of the authors names on the front dust cover and on the cloth cover - 'Fletcher' being mis-spelt as 'Flecher'. Additionally on the back jacket cover there is a mis-spelling of another of the co-authors 'Garratt' being printed as 'Farratt'. First three images and additional information courtesy of Ruth Yeo
Number: LS9 Original:	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Penguin Special Library Edition LS9 Title: EUROPE AND THE CZECHS Author: S. Grant Duff Illustrations: with 9 maps by Marthe Rajchman Date Published in Britain: 27 September 1938 Pages: 224pp. Printer: Purnell and Sons Ltd Price: 50¢
Number: LS10 Original:	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Penguin Special Library Edition LS10 Title: THE JEWISH PROBLEM Author: Louis Golding Illustrations: with 33 illustrations in text Cover: illustration shows 'The massacre of Jews' from on old woodcut, 1493. Date Published in Britain: 25 November 1938 Pages: 224pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 50¢
Number: LS11	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Penguin Special Library Edition LS11 Title: LITERARY TASTE - How to form it, with detailed instructions for collecting a complete library of English Literature Author: Arnold Bennett Edited: and with additional lists by Frank Swinnerton Date Published in Britain: 11 November 1938 as a 'Pelican' Special Pages: 192pp. Printer: Purnell and Sons Ltd Price: 50¢ Images courtesy of Ruth Yeo
Number: LS13	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Penguin Special Library Edition LS13 Title: WHAT HITLER WANTS Author: E. O. Lorimer Cover: drawing by 'Joss' Date Published in Britain: 12 January 1939 Pages: 192pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 50¢
Number: LS14	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Penguin Special Library Edition LS14 Title: MOWRER IN CHINA Author: Edgar Ansel Mowrer Illustrations: with 6 maps by Marthe Rajchman Date Published in Britain: 8 December 1938 Pages: 224pp. Printer: Purnell and Sons Ltd Price: 50¢ [F.L.]
Number: LS15	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Penguin Special Library Edition LS15 Title: ONE MAN AGAINST EUROPE Author: Konrad Heiden Date Published in Britain: 28 April 1939 Pages: 288pp. Printer: Wyman and Sons Ltd Price: 50¢
Number: LS16	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Penguin Special Library Edition LS16 Title: BLUE ANGELS AND WHALES - A record of personal experiences below and above water Author: Robert Gibbings Illustrations: with 16 pages of photographic plates and 1 colour plate; illustrations by Robert Gibbings Date Published in Britain: 11 November 1938 Pages: 128pp. + 18pp. Printer: Letterpress; Gravure by Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 50¢ A Pelican Special
Number: LS17	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Penguin Special Library Edition LS17 Title: WARNING FROM THE WEST INDIES Author: W. M. MacMillan Illustrations: with map Date Published in Britain: 11 November 1938 Pages: 192pp. Printer: Purnell and Sons Ltd Price: 50¢ [F.L.]
Number: LS18	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Penguin Special Library Edition LS18 Series No.: S18 Title: THE GREAT ILLUSION - NOW Author: Norman Angell Date Published in Britain: 8 December 1938 Pages: 288pp. Printer: Purnell and Sons Ltd Price: 50¢
Number: LS19	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Penguin Special Library Edition LS19 Title: BRITAIN BY MASS-OBSERVATION Authors: (arranged and written by) Charles Madge and Tom Harrison Illustrations: chart Date Published in Britain: 12 January 1939 Pages: 256pp. Printer: Purnell and Sons Ltd Price: 50¢
Number: LS20	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Penguin Special Library Edition LS20 Title: THE PRESS Author: Wickham Steed Date Published in Britain: 11 November 1938 Pages: 256pp. Printer: William Clowes and Sons Ltd Price: 50¢ [J.P.]
Number: LS21	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Penguin Special Library Edition LS21 Title: OURSELVES AND GERMANY Author: The Marquess on Londonderry Date Published in Britain: 8 December 1938 Pages: 192pp. Printer: Purnell and Sons Ltd Price: 50¢ [J.P.]
Number: LS22	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Penguin Special Library Edition LS22 Title: DESIGN Author: Anthony Bertram Illustrations: with 32 pages of photographic plates; 76 illustrations and one page of type Date Published in Britain: 8 December 1938 Pages: 128pp. + 32pp. Printer: Purnell and Sons Ltd Price: 50¢ A Pelican Special
	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Penguin Special Library Edition LS23 THIS NUMBER (No. LS23) WAS NOT USED. A new book was announced for October 1938 (on back cover of S9) as S.O.S. to Democracy by C. Denby Miller, but was never published. A February/March 1940 list of Penguin Books also shows S23 as Palestine by Commander Fletcher, but marked as 'publication suspended indefinitely'. This book was never published in Britain or Canada.
Number: LS24	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Penguin Special Library Edition LS24 Title: THEY BETRAYED CZECHOSLOVAKIA Author: G. J. George Perface by: Edgar Ansel Mowrer Date Published in Britain: 12 January 1939 Pages: 192pp. Printer: Richard Clay and Co Ltd Price: 50¢
Number: LS25	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Penguin Special Library Edition LS25 Title: I WAS HITLER'S PRISONER - LEAVES FROM A PRISON DIARY Author: Stefan Lorant Translated: from the German by James Cleuch Date Published in Britain: 12 January 1939 Pages: 286pp. Printer: Purnell and Sons Ltd Price: 50¢
LA6	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Penguin Special Library Edition LA6 Title: PRACTICAL ECONOMICS Author: G. D. H. Cole Date Published in Britain: 21 May 1937 Pages: 256pp. Printer: Purnell and Sons Ltd Price: 50¢ Image courtesy of Steve Hare/PCS
LA10	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Penguin Special Library Edition LA10 Title: THE MYSTERIOUS UNIVERSE Author: Sir James Jeans Illustrations: 2 pages of black-and-white photographic plates Date Published in Britain: 29 October 1937 Pages: 192pp. + 4pp. Printer: Purnell and Sons Ltd Price: 50¢
LA13	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Penguin Special Library Edition LA13 Title: LIBERTY IN THE MODERN STATE Author: Harold J. Laski Date Published in Britain: 29 October 1937 Pages: 224pp. Printer: Purnell and Sons Ltd Price: 50¢
LA23	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Penguin Special Library Edition LA23 Title: RELIGION AND THE RISE OF CAPITALISM A Historical Study (Holland Memorial Lectures, 1922) Author: R. H. Tawney Prefatory note: Dr Charles Gore Date Published in Britain: 25 February 1938 Pages: 320pp. Printer: Purnell and Sons Ltd Price: 50¢
LA38	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Penguin Special Library Edition LA38 Title: ART IN ENGLAND Author: R. S. Lambert Illustrations: with 32 pages of photographic plates Date Published: 28 October 1938 Pages: 160pp. + 32pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: 50¢ Images courtesy of Ruth Yeo
Number: CAN-S82	Series No.: Canadian Penguins - Service Edition Title: AIRCRAFT RECOGNITION Author: R. A. Saville-Sneath Date Published: May 1941 imprint Pages: 176pp. Printer: Wyman and Sons Ltd; photographic plates by Harrison and Sons Ltd. Price: 35¢
A97	Series No.: Canadian A97 Title: ANTHOLOGY OF CANADIAN POETRY (English) Compiled: by Ralph Gustafson Date Published in Canada: 1942 Pages: 123pp. Printer: Ryerson Press, Toronto Price: ? ¢ Series No.: A97 (UK version) Title: AN ANTHOLOGY OF CANADIAN POETRY (English) Compiled: by Ralph Gustafson Date Published: 23 April 1942 Pages: 128pp. Printer: Richard Clay and Co Ltd Price: 9d Images in order show Canadian Pelican front and rear covers, and UK publication
502 (USA)	Series No.: 502 (USA) Title: PYGMALION Author: George Bernard Shaw Date Published: 1942 Price: 25¢
Canadian Penguins Progress 10	No.: 10 Title: PENGUINS PROGRESS Volume 10 (Canadian Edition) Date Published in Britain: 1950 Pages: 32pp. Printer: King and Hutchings Ltd Contents include: news about the publication of a special selection of ten volumes of D.H. Lawrence's work to mark the twentieth anniversary of Lawrence's death; Penguin Classics; sales of Penguin books in the USA; Penguin Modern Painters series; Penguin detective and crime books; The Welsh by Wyn Griffith; A Prospect of Wales by Professor Gwyn Jones; Pelican histories; 'The Faith of a Translator' by E.V. Rieu; Common Wild Flowers by Dr John Hutchinson; Penguin Poets series; Penguin Periodicals; Puffin books; Science News; King Penguins; photograph of the Penguin stand at the November 1949 Sunday Times Book Fair. Image courtesy of Ruth Yeo
Penguins Progress 13	No.: 13 Title: PENGUINS PROGRESS Volume 13 Illustrated: by Milein Cosman Date Published in Britain: 1951 Pages: 48pp. Printer: King and Hutchings Ltd Contents include: reprint of an article from The Times Literary Supplement entitled 'Penguins and Pelicans; 'A Pride of Penguins' by W.E. Williams; photographs of the party held at the opening of the Penguin Book Exhibition in November 1950; 'The Works of Evelyn Waugh' by Douglas Woodruff; The Odyssey; 'The Present Condition of Poetry' by Stephen Spender; 'Book-Breeders' Show'; 'Modern Swedish Architecture' by J.M. Richards; 'Once Upon a Time' by J.E. Morpurgo; 'The Use of Miniature Scores' by Gordon Jacob. The second image shows 'Riverside Books Ltd 47 Green Street, St Lambert Montreal,P.Q.' printed on the rear of the booklet. Images courtesy of Ruth Yeo
Penguins Progress 14	No.: 14 Title: PENGUINS PROGRESS Volume 14 Illustrated: by Gordon Cullen Date Published in Britain: 1951 Pages: 48pp. Printer: King and Hutchings Ltd Contents include: The Canterbury Tales by Nevill Coghill; 'Celebrating the Arts' by W.E. Williams, including photographs of the Festival of Britain; 'On Satire' by Stevie Smith; 'The English Scene' by Geoffrey Grigson; 'Outdoor Activities' by Victor Bonham-Carter; 'Festival Art' by Eric Newton; 'The Artist at Work' by Alfred Scharf; 'The Background of Penguin Typography' by Beatrice Warde. The second image shows 'Riverside Books Ltd 47 Green Street, St Lambert Montreal, Quebec, Canada' printed on the rear of the booklet. Images courtesy of Ruth Yeo
Number: 1,121	Main Series No.: 1,121 Title: THE CRUEL SEA Author: Nicholas Monsarrat Type: Fiction Date Published: First published in Canada in 1954, and in the UK on 25 October 1956 Pages: 448pp. Printer: Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd Price: Canada 75c., 3/6d. in the UK This was the first 'War Story' published by Penguin in the UK, and the first main series with a photographic cover. The first four images are of the 1954 Canadian edition (printed in Britain) with dust jacket, and the final image is of the UK printing in 1956. First, third and fourth images courtesy of Ruth Yeo, second image and further information courtesy of James Hardy
Number: 2,461	Main Series No.: 2,461 Title: FUNERAL IN BERLIN Author: Len Deighton Cover: illustration shows actor Michael Caine in still from film Type: Fiction Date Published: 1966 Pages: 256pp. Printer: Universal Printers Ltd, Winnipeg Price: 95c First two images of the Canadian edition front cover show different prices. It is thought that the $1.25 originally set by Penguin (perhaps from Britain) was considered too expensive and the price reduced by over stamping three bars over the price and printing 95c below. Third image is of the back cover - note that the Canadian edition is also not available for sale in the USA. Final image of the UK edition. First three images and additional information courtesy of Ruth Yeo

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