Allen Lane Files: DM1819

This collection forms part of the administrative papers of Penguin Books Ltd., and relates to the business of the founder, Sir Allen Lane (1902-1970).  The collection contains files on Penguin operations around the world, including Australia, Canada, America, Brazil, Africa and the Caribbean, as well as some editorial files for Penguin books.  There is also a substantial amount of information on a number of Penguin series, such as Penguin Classics (L/044), Pelican (A/02) and Puffin books (PS/03).  The files also contain information on the personal life of Allen Lane and material relating to the Lady Chatterley’s Lover trial of 1960.

A handlist of the Allen Lane files (485 Kb, doc) is available.

Dates of Creation: 1935-1983

Extent: 42 archive boxes.

Immediate Source of Acquisition: On deposit with University of Bristol Library Special Collections from Penguin Books Ltd.

Access Conditions: Accessible to all bona fide readers with permission from Penguin Books Ltd.  Please note that the Allen Lane Files are currently only listed to box level, and care must be taken when using them.  A typescript catalogue is available in Special Collections.

Copyright/Reproduction: Permission to copy material must be obtained from Penguin Books Ltd. and the University of Bristol Library Special Collections.

See also:
Clare Morpurgo Allen Lane and His Foundation, 2006 Allen Lane Lecture
J.E. Morpurgo  Allen Lane: King Penguin (Hutchinson, 1979)
J.E. Morpurgo's research papers on Allen Lane held at Leeds University Library
Steve Hare (ed.) Penguin Portrait: Allen Lane and the Penguin Editors 1935-1970 (Penguin, 1995)
Jeremy Lewis  Penguin Special: the Life and Times of Allen Lane (Penguin, 2005)
Alistair McCleary In Search of a Hero: Looking for Allen Lane (Penguin Collectors' Society, 2006)
Tim Graham (ed.) Penguin in Print: A Bibliography (Penguin Collectors' Society, 2003)

Back to the Penguin Archive homepage.