£650,000 for Penguin Archive project

Detail from Penguin logos at play, taken from 'Penguins Progress 1935-1960', artist unknown courtesy of Bristol University's Special Collections

Press release issued: 31 January 2008

A wealth of material relating to the remarkable history of Penguin Books, housed in Bristol University Library’s Special Collections, will be studied and catalogued on-line thanks to a £650,000 grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

The Penguin Archive consists of more than 2,300 boxes of letters, notes and other papers spanning the history of the company from its establishment in 1935, by Bristol-born Allen Lane, to the present day.

The four-year project will be led by Dr John Lyon of the Department of English with co-investigators George Donaldson (English), Dr Hugh Pemberton (Historical Studies) and Dr Ika Willis (Classics).

Housed in the University’s Arts and Social Sciences Library, the archive contains editorial files relating to the publication of each book (including author and editor correspondence) as well as material relating to the history of the company, book design and individuals – including designers – involved in the publishing process. Copies of most Penguin books published can also be found in the archive.

Professor Lyon said: “This archive of the most distinctive, if not the most important, publishing house in the twentieth century, is a record of the democratisation of reading. It is thus invaluable for what it can reveal of the history of the book and publishing and, more generally, of Penguin’s undoubted contribution to British culture.”

The funding provides for the appointment of an archivist, a postdoctoral research fellow in English, working on Penguin and Modern Poetry, two doctoral students (one in Historical Studies, working on Penguin Specials, and one in Classical Reception, working on Penguin and the Classics), and a part-time administrator.

Various events are planned over the four years, including academic conferences and workshops and Penguin Days for the general public, including the Penguin Collectors Society. A substantial event and exhibition is planned to coincide with the 75th anniversary of Penguin Books and the centenary of the University of Bristol in 2009.