Jane Eyre.
Jane Eyre.

Left to right:
Charlotte Brontë.

Jane Eyre.
Jane Eyre.

Melbourne, London, Boston: Penguin Books, 1953;

New York: Pocket Books, Inc., 1953.

Mass-market paperbacks as we know them today were established in 1935 with Penguin Books. Covers were color coded: literary fiction appeared in orange; mystery and crime fiction appeared in green; biography in blue; pink for travel; etc. A practical comparison of Penguin’s first issue of Jane Eyre and that of Pocket Books helps to show just how distinctive the Penguin design was from that of American publishers. Penguins stood apart not only for the elegant design of their covers, but also their scholarly presentation.

From the collection of Rare Book School