New American Library, founded in 1948, published Signet and Mentor paperbacks, mostly reprints, plus hardback and paperback originals. Its originals state "First Printing", with a number row from the 1980s.
New American Library is a publisher based in New York City, founded in 1948. We track 169 editions it published between 1941 and 2016, 123 of them first editions across 166 books. How New American Library marked its first editions is set out below, with a checker for the year on your title page.
About New American Library
New American Library (NAL) dates from 1948, when Victor Weybright and Kurt Enoch took over the American business of Penguin Books, minus the Penguin and Pelican trademarks, and renamed it the New American Library of World Literature. It is now an imprint of Penguin Random House.
The firm made its name with cheap paperbacks. Its two main paperback lines were Signet and Mentor, the latter sold as "Good reading for the millions". Authors on the NAL list included William Faulkner, James Joyce, George Orwell, Ayn Rand and Stephen King, and by 1956 the house reported over three million copies sold of its Signet From Here to Eternity. NAL started publishing original hardbacks in 1963, including Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, and in 1984 it published the first edition of King's Thinner.
Times Mirror bought NAL in 1960 and sold it in 1983 to Odyssey Partners and Ira J. Hechler. NAL acquired E. P. Dutton in 1985 and was brought back into Penguin in 1987. Its imprints include Plume and Roc. Under a change announced in 2015 and effective from autumn 2016, NAL kept non-fiction while its fiction moved to Berkley.
Holding a copy? The first edition checker shows New American Library's practice for the year on your title page.
Identification
How to identify New American Library first editions
What to look for
Signet and Mentor were largely reprint lines, so a Signet copy of a well-known novel is usually a paperback reprint of a book first issued in hardback elsewhere. NAL also published hardback and paperback originals, and those are the true firsts. Always check where and when the work first appeared.
1960s to 1970s
NAL originals carry a "First Printing" statement on the copyright page.
From the 1970s Signet books state "First Signet Printing" with a month and year. This wording appears on reprints and on Signet paperback originals alike (Stephen King's Rage, 1977, is an original marked this way), so the statement alone does not prove a first edition.
1980s to 1990s
NAL added a number row during the 1980s. A first printing reads "First Printing" with month and year above a row such as "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9". King's Thinner (1984) is marked this way.
How do I identify a New American Library first edition?
Signet and Mentor were largely reprint lines, so a Signet copy of a well-known novel is usually a paperback reprint of a book first issued in hardback elsewhere. NAL also published hardback and paperback originals, and those are the true firsts. Always check where and when the work first appeared. 1960s to 1970s - NAL originals carry a "First Printing" statement on the copyright page. - From the 1
How many New American Library books does MyVolumes track?
We track 169 editions published by New American Library, 123 of them first editions, across 166 books.
