Spot the first: P. 50: reads 'whip' where the second impression corrects it to 'whips' (first impression)
Publisher · founded 1921 · London
Jonathan Cape
Jonathan Cape is a London literary publisher founded in 1921, first UK publisher of Ian Fleming's Bond novels and now a Vintage imprint at Penguin Random House.
- Editions tracked
- 504
- First editions
- 206
- Books
- 500
- Years
- 1899 to 2025
About Jonathan Cape
Jonathan Cape is a London literary publisher founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape and his partner George Wren Howard, and today an imprint of Vintage within Penguin Random House.
Trading started on 1 January 1921 at 11 Gower Street, Bloomsbury, with Cape supplying the publishing know-how and Howard overseeing design and production. Its first title was a two-volume reissue of C. M. Doughty's Travels in Arabia Deserta, priced at nine guineas, which sold out and went back to press. Edward Garnett served as the firm's reader until his death in 1937.
Cape published T. E. Lawrence (Revolt in the Desert, 1927; Seven Pillars of Wisdom, 1935) and, from Casino Royale (1953) onwards, the UK first editions of Ian Fleming's James Bond books. Its list also took in Roald Dahl, Hugh Lofting, Arthur Ransome, James Joyce and Robert Frost, then Kingsley Amis and John Lennon in the 1960s, along with Len Deighton, and J. G. Ballard and Salman Rushdie in the 1970s. After Cape's death in 1960, Tom Maschler ran the list for over 30 years.
In 1969 Cape combined with Chatto & Windus to protect both firms' independence, and The Bodley Head and Virago later joined the group. Random House bought the group in 1987, and Cape now sits in Vintage at Penguin Random House.
How to identify Jonathan Cape first editions
- UK first editions name Jonathan Cape on the title page and carry a "First Published" statement with the year on the reverse of the title page. A first impression shows that statement with no later printings listed beneath it.
- Live and Let Die (1954) exists in three jacket states on first-impression copies, told apart by whether and where the jacket designer's credit appears on the front flap.
- Press reviews printed on the jacket flaps generally indicate a jacket from a later impression; on Casino Royale (1953) a Times review on the front flap marks a later run.
AuthorsRoald Dahl (18)Ian McEwan (16)Kurt Vonnegut (16)Ernest Hemingway (15)Ian Fleming (14)Philip Roth (11)Salman Rushdie (11)Chuck Palahniuk (10)Gabriel García Márquez (9)Joan Aiken (7)
SeriesJames BondDoctor DolittleSwallows and Amazons seriesCanopus in ArgosA. J. RafflesAmerican trilogyHark! A VagrantMassey Lectures
Books
Published by Jonathan Cape
Spot the edition: P. 66: 'serious' is misprinted as 'seriosu' (first state; copies reading 'serious' are a later state)
Frequently asked questions
How do I identify a Jonathan Cape first edition?
- UK first editions name Jonathan Cape on the title page and carry a "First Published" statement with the year on the reverse of the title page. A first impression shows that statement with no later printings listed beneath it. - Live and Let Die (1954) exists in three jacket states on first-impression copies, told apart by whether and where the jacket designer's credit appears on the front flap.
How many Jonathan Cape books does MyVolumes track?
We track 504 editions published by Jonathan Cape, 206 of them first editions, across 500 books.
Where these facts come from
- Jonathan Cape, Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
- Jonathan Cape (Q3277534), Wikidata (wikidata.org)
- Collecting Ian Fleming First Edition Books, Rare and Antique Books, 2015 (rareandantiquebooks.com)
- 007 Heaven, John Atkinson Books, 2024 (johnatkinsonbooks.co.uk)
Every fact on this page was checked against the sources listed. Checked 17 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.