Knopf has printed a "First Edition" statement on the copyright page since about 1934, using "First American Edition" where the book had already been published abroad. As with other American trade publishers, a dust jacket with no printed price can point to a book club edition rather than the trade first, though an unpriced jacket alone is not proof. A small blind stamp (an uninked impression) on the back board near the spine marks a book club edition. Where a "First Edition" statement appears with a number line, check that the lowest number is 1: a line starting at 2 can mean the statement was not removed from a later printing.
Publisher
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group is the Penguin Random House division formed in 2009 that unites Alfred A. Knopf (1915) and Doubleday (1897) with Pantheon, Schocken and Vintage.
- Editions tracked
- 47
- First editions
- 40
- Books
- 47
- Years
- 2009 to 2025
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group is a publisher active from 2009. We track 47 editions it published between 2009 and 2025, 40 of them first editions across 47 books. How Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group marked its first editions is set out below, with a checker for the year on your title page.
About Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group is a New York publishing division of Penguin Random House, formed in 2009 when the Doubleday group was combined with the Knopf Publishing Group under Knopf's editor in chief, Sonny Mehta.
It joins two of the oldest names in American publishing. Alfred A. Knopf was founded in New York in 1915 by Alfred A. Knopf and Blanche Knopf, whose borzoi colophon dates from 1925, and was bought by Random House in 1960. Doubleday began in 1897 as Doubleday & McClure, founded by Frank Nelson Doubleday and S. S. McClure; it was based in Garden City, Long Island, from 1910 to 1986, when Nelson Doubleday Jr. sold it to Bertelsmann. Both houses now sit within Penguin Random House.
Mehta, who had led Knopf since 1987, chaired the combined group until he died in December 2019. Knopf writers during his tenure included the Nobel laureates Toni Morrison, Kazuo Ishiguro, Alice Munro and Orhan Pamuk, and the merger brought Doubleday authors such as Margaret Atwood, Dan Brown and John Grisham into the group, alongside Kevin Kwan.
Under president and publisher Maya Mavjee the group was restructured again in May 2024, having announced in 2023 that it would phase out the Anchor paperback line. Its imprints include Knopf, Doubleday, Pantheon, Schocken, Vintage and the US Everyman's Library.
Holding a copy? The first edition checker shows Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group's practice for the year on your title page.
Identification
How to identify Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group first editions
Authors
Series
Books
Published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Frequently asked questions
How do I identify a Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group first edition?
Knopf has printed a "First Edition" statement on the copyright page since about 1934, using "First American Edition" where the book had already been published abroad. As with other American trade publishers, a dust jacket with no printed price can point to a book club edition rather than the trade first, though an unpriced jacket alone is not proof. A small blind stamp (an uninked impression) on t
How many Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group books does MyVolumes track?
We track 47 editions published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 40 of them first editions, across 47 books.
Where these facts come from
- Alfred A. Knopf, Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
- Doubleday (publisher), Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
- Sonny Mehta, Chairman of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Dies at 77, infoDOCKET, 2019 (infodocket.com)
- Reagan Arthur, Lisa Lucas to Depart KDPG in Another Restructure, Publishers Weekly, 2024 (publishersweekly.com)
- How to Identify First Editions from Alfred A. Knopf, Books Tell You Why (blog.bookstellyouwhy.com)
- How to Spot a First Edition, Capitol Hill Books (capitolhillbooks.substack.com)
- Identifying First Editions, Empty Mirror Books (emptymirrorbooks.com)
- Beginners Tips for Identifying a First Edition, Very Fine Books, 2012 (blog.veryfinebooks.com)
Every fact on this page was checked against the sources listed. Checked 17 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.