A First Edition, First Impression of the Original Guinness Book of Records from 1955. One of the rarest books I own. It even has a letter from Guinness, as it was sent as a gift to a pub for people to settle arguments. It’s in near-perfect condition so clearly wasn’t used much!

by jck0

17 comments

  1. Alright I’ll be the one to do it. How much did it cost and what do you think it’s worth?

  2. I’m sure five shillings was quite a hefty sum to pay for a book 70 years ago.

  3. For our younger Redditors, this is an analogue Kindle made from the pulp of tree wood.

    In the before-days, it was common practice to have several of these, with differing content, typically arranged by genre and author on a set of (also made from wood) shelves known as a “book case”.

    Note a book case did not usually have a lock (metal key rather than eight digit PIN or facial recognition.

  5. Me realising just now Guinness means the drink is like when I found out a Michelin Star is the tyre man

  6. Don’t leave us hanging. Who *was* Britain’s fattest man?

  8. What’s the reference to Edgbaston, Birmingham?

  9. Anybody else only just realised that the Guinness book of records is connected to the alcoholic beverage?

  10. What do you think is the easiest record to beat in that first addition.

  13. Always thought Norris McWhirter was the creator.. was Roy Castle lying to me..!?

  14. Damn. I have one from 1986 and thought that was rare, but this is impeccable.

  15. Do you still have the full collection? It pleases me greatly knowing that someone does.

  16. I like the glimpse into Penfolds life before he met Danger Mouse.

  17. I love the origin story of the Guinness book, someone got so tired of all the endless arguments about trivia like this they commissioned a whole book and all the research to settle any possible pointless debate. It seems delightfully British. 

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