Guinness Record Book Collecting

2010-07-23 We've been lucky enough to acquire a copy of a hitherto unknown company edition from 1973, produced for John Lee & Son (Grantham) Limited.

2010-07-17 An unusual offering from Sterling Publishing in 1976 was a set of glasses depicting various World Records.

2010-07-01 Bantam special editions keep turning up from the USA; we now have one produced for the Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company in 1981.

2010-06-23 A special edition of the Guinness Book of Structures was produced for the Mabey Group of Companies in 1978.

2010-06-15 To promote Gros Gin Geneva in Canada, special packs of playing cards with records from Le Livre des Records were produced.

2010-06-14 We have discovered that a special edition of the 1995 International Guinness Book of Records paperback was produced for Syntex Australia.

2010-05-15 Another special edition has turned up - this time a 1989 Dutch edition promoting Oscorel tablets.

2010-05-14 Watch out for Anna Nicholas' new book, "Strictly off the Record", available in September.

2010-05-14 We've gathered together our interview collection into a single "people page". If you want to be featured on this page, please let us know.

2010-05-02 The 2010 Bantam edition of Guinness World records is now on sale.

2010-04-23 An unusual first day cover from Russia in 1990 shows the 1988 Guinness Book of Records.

2010-04-12 A special sport edition of Guinness World Records was published for Sport Lisboa e Benfica in 2007.

2010-04-09 Details of the 1st ever Spanish edition, "Enciclopedia Guinness De Superlativos Mundiales", are now on our site.

2010-04-08 We have found another private edition, which was produced for the Clarke Group in 1979/80.

2010-04-06 Two more company editions are now detailed on our site - a 2007 Troll Special edition, and a 2009 Sybase Special edition.

2010-03-26 We have recently acquired some French special editions produced by Denoël in 1975. We know of editions for Le Petit Brun Extra biscuits and the Chantovent vineyard.

2010-03-26 An interesting paperback from 1969 is the limited edition Libro Guinness de Records Olimpicos from Mexico.

2010-03-23 A very unusual combination of a Guinness sports records book with Old Spice aftershave was available in 1984.

2010-03-17 We have a membership passport for the Guinness Bank of Knowledge. If anyone knows more about this service, please let us know.

2010-03-16 Promotional copies of the Guinness World Records book are still being commissioned - we have details of a recent Panasonic edition.

2010-03-02 Two more specially produced editions have turned up: Guinness des Records Planta Fin 2000 and Panasonic Olympic Records 1992.

2010-02-21 A new section of our site is devoted to related items of interest to collectors (stamps, beer-mats, other media, and so on).

2010-01-29 The first editions in Serbo-Croat, Hebrew and Slovenian are now documented on our site.

2010-01-29 We have received another company special edition from Spain - this time a 1990 promotional copy for the Philips K-200 television.

2010-01-29 A special presentation of the 1979 Air Facts & Feats edition for Cox Hobbies has come to light.

2010-01-01 To celebrate the new year, we have added details of books in the Guinness "Fact Book" series to the site.

2009-12-23 A recent addition to our collection is the first ever New Zealand edition from 1977.

2009-11-24 We've been talking to Ralf Laue about his book and some of his record-breaking achievements.

2009-11-16 A 1976 Guinness Book of World Records Jigsaw Puzzle becomes the 750th item listed on this site.

2009-10-30 Does anyone know anything about the Benco editions from the 1960s?

2009-10-23 Guinness World Records has released a limited-edition facsimile (reprint) of the "1st edition". 5,000 hand-numbered copies are available for sale.

2009-10-15 An unusual electronic quiz game from 1980 shows just how much computers have developed in the past 30 years!

2009-10-11 A new section of our site documents the Guinness "The Records" series, bringing the total number of items on the site closer to 750!

2009-08-29 To celebrate the second anniversary of this web-site, we are delighted to be able to publish extracts from our interview with Iain McWhirter (Ross McWhirter's son). He is definitely a chip off the old block!

2009-08-22 We now have a set of the Guinness Britain's Natural Heritage series of nature books.

2009-08-15 We've added a brand new section to the site, detailing the books in the Guinness Facts & Feats series.

2009-07-05 We have found some 1970s Christmas Cards from Guinness Superlatives Ltd. If anyone knows of any others, please let us know.

2009-06-12 New to the site today - a lovely set of Guinness records cards, produced by Mister Softee in 1963.

2009-06-09 We have come across a nice little promotional booklet from the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.

2009-06-08 If you know of any pre-production copies (such as the 2008 mock-up), please let us know.

2009-04-25 We have received a copy of the 1st Canadian Edition from 1976.

2009-04-24 If you like the quirkier side of world records, you must get hold of a copy of the Guinness Book of Trivia Records, illustrated by Bill Hinds (Sterling, 1985).

2009-04-19 Marketing of the book in the USA in the 1970s included Guinness World Records Dixie cups.

2009-04-09 Lucky Diamond Rich (the World's Most Tattooed Person) has kindly answered a few questions for us about his record breaking and collecting.

2009-04-08 Eric Rosenthal wrote the Southern African section of the Guinness Book of Records from 1968. In 1975, he produced a standalone record book, sponsored by the Total oil company. We have a copy.

2009-04-01 New to the site today - a complimentary copy of the 1978-79 Guinness Sports Record Book from TreeSweet (sponsors of O. J. Simpson in the 1970s/1980s).

2009-03-27 An interesting month! We have found an unusual dual-language book of records (Guinness en Español e Inglés) and a fabulous 1978 "Guinness World Records Reading Comprehension Pack". Wonderful stuff!

2009-02-25 After a quiet month, we've now got hold of two unusual copies of the U.S. version of the 2001 edition. One has a red & green cover, the other black & orange, and we know of a blue & yellow version. Are there any others?

2009-01-17 Larry Olmsted, author of "Getting into Guinness", has kindly agreed to be interviewed by us. His comments will be of interest to anyone with a passion for the Book and the records that it inspires.

2009-01-16 In 1984, "Dorland Advertising" ran a competition where the prizes included copies of the Guinness Book of Records signed by Norris McWhirter. One such copy was presented to the organiser of the signing session, and this copy becomes the 500th item catalogued on our site.

2009-01-15 Company special editions keep appearing - the latest edition to come to our attention was produced for "JWIS Chains Ltd" in 1977.

2009-01-10 We have come across a "private distribution" copy of the 2008 edition.

2009-01-04 Another company special edition has resurfaced on eBay.

2008-11-26 More sad news from Shelbyville, where the World's oldest woman - Edna Parker - has died at the age of 115 years and 220 days.

2008-11-12 A publisher's proof copy of the 1974 edition has surfaced on eBay, leading to speculation that there may still be other versions of that edition to find.

2008-10-23 For the first time, full details of the Guinness Doctors' Books from 1933-1939 and 1950-1966 are now on our site.

2008-10-05 Larry Olmsted's "Getting into Guinness" has just been released in the UK and USA. If you want to know how much effort is required to gain a place in the book, then read this book!

2008-09-17 The first Russian and Japanese editions are now documented on our site.

2008-09-12 We have found a copy of the first Dutch edition from 1971.

2008-08-26 Details of the first (1990) Polish edition of the Guinness Book of Records are now on our site.

2008-08-16 We now have a special edition of the first Southern African Guinness Book of Records.

2008-08-13 Very sad news that Sandy Allen - the World's tallest woman - has died at the age of 53.

2008-08-02 According to the official website, the 2009 edition will come with a pair of 3D glasses to view "more than 20 3D features".

2008-08-01 To celebrate our birthday, we have added three more interesting items: two pre-production mock-ups of the Guinness book of World Records from 2004 and 2005, and a special edition from the USA.

2008-07-18 Another specially bound edition - this time from Spain - has turned up on eBay.

2008-07-11 Recent additions to our collection have brought the number of items detailed on our site to 340 - and we still have a couple of weeks to go before our first anniversary!

2008-07-03 A number of interesting 1st editions (with glassine covers or original packaging) have surfaced on eBay recently. It just goes to show that there are still interesting editions for collectors to find.

2008-06-15 We have come across a 1978 U.S. Bantam edition with a bonus free ticket to any Guinness Museum.

2008-06-15 Russell Ash has recently published the Top 10 for Men (Over 250 lists that matter).

2008-05-26 We've come across another variant of the Guinness Sports Record Book from 1972, and a hardback version of the 1994 Bantam edition.

2008-05-13 A 1983 Australian edition with a special Toyota cover has come to light recently.

2008-05-12 We have documented two more early U.S. publications - the Dunlop Illustrated Encyclopedia of Facts and the Guinness Sports Record Book.

2008-05-09 We've added details of some more 1st Editions from other countries. As always, if you can help, please let us know.

2008-05-01 Another 1968 company special edition (for Wellman Machines Limited) has surfaced on eBay.

2008-04-15 We now have a copy of the first Norwegian edition ("Guinness Rekordbok Først og Størst") and details of the first Danish edition ("Guinness Rekordbog Først og Størst"). If you have information on any other first editions, please get in touch.

2008-04-10 A 1984 UK edition with a Whiskas dust-jacket has been brought to our attention.

2008-03-22 We've added a copy of the first Italian edition (Il Guinness Dei Primati) to our collection.

2008-03-14 Many GBR collectors also collect the Guinness Book of Answers, so we have added a section for that series of reference books to our site.

2008-03-10 An interesting special edition from the U.S. is the 1979 Bantam edition produced for the Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company.

2008-03-10 Anyone read Russian?

2008-03-01 A number of collectors' (trading) card sets have been issued for Guinness World Records - we have a Sterling Publishing set of 16 from 1980.

2008-02-25 In the third issue of the Guinness Gold Club newsletter, an Adidas special edition is mentioned. This has proved rather elusive, until now ...

2008-02-16 Guinness World Records has been sold, and now forms part of Jim Pattison's "Ripley's Believe It or Not!" empire.

2008-02-13 In order to catalogue first editions from around the world, we have started a new section on the site. If you can help, please let us know.

2008-02-08 We have just been reacquainted with the Daily Mail part-work that was produced to publicise the 1997 edition.

2008-02-07 Three more books have joined our collection, allowing us to fill in some of the gaps in our U.S. Sterling editions section.

2008-01-31 Another copy of the leather-bound 7th edition produced for Lucas Gas Turbine Equipment has come to light.

2008-01-16 More of the history of the U.S. editions, together with some fascinating record stories can be found in "Guinness: The Stories Behind the Records".

2008-01-12 We have found a lovely little booklet from 1966, in the "style" of the Guinness Book of Records from that era: the Guinness Book of British Empire & Commonwealth Games Records.

2007-12-28 Another company special edition has been reported to us. We have also added some information about more of our U.S. Sterling editions to the site.

2007-12-25 With the arrival of a copy of the 2008 edition, we can claim a record 34 years in a row receiving the book as a Christmas present. However, Guinness has yet to ratify this momentous achievement!

2007-12-22 We have added details of some more editions to our U.S. Bantam page.

2007-12-21 If you have any spare time in the near future, you should try and read Ross: The story of a shared life (Norris McWhirter's biography of his twin brother).

2007-12-19 A copy of the McWhirters' first book - "Get to your Marks!" - has joined our collection. It a great read for historians of Track and Field athletics.

2007-12-15 Whilst browsing through some books in a local shop, we came across a hitherto undocumented "company special" edition, published for Oxy Metal Finishing in 1971.

2007-12-08 Today we feature an interview with Gyles Brandreth, who was editor-in-chief of the Guinness Record Breakers Club.

2007-12-03 Guinness World Records may be up for sale once more [Article from The Sunday Times].

2007-12-01 In 1994 Guinness started the Gold Club for collectors of the book. We have some information (and the first 5 newsletters), but would love to hear from anyone who has anything else to add.

2007-11-15 We've added a new section dedicated to other Guinness publications. To get the section started, we've added details of the Guinness Silver Anniversary Series.

2007-11-09 A little-known forerunner to the Guinness Book of Records series is Jerome S. Meyer's Book of Amazing Facts. We now have a copy of this fabulous publication from 1950.

2007-11-09 We have now completed our "Top 10 of Everything" collection, having bought copies of "The Book of Texas Lists" and the latest (2008) edition.

2007-11-04 Many Guinness Book of Records collectors are also collectors of other factual books. We have collected the "Top 10 of Everything" series since its launch in 1989, and have produced a companion web-site cataloguing our collection.

2007-10-28 We've added a couple of other books — that may be of interest to collectors — to our "Related" section. These are the 1982 "Guinness Pocket Book of Facts" and the 1992 "Guinness UK Data Book".

2007-10-26 From the information in the 1974 and 1976 Bantam paperbacks, we believe we are starting to find out how the edition numbering worked in the early U.S. editions.

2007-10-14 Two more U.S. editions have been added to our collection, but we are still keen to hear from collectors who know more about the U.S. series of books.

2007-10-04 A rare "company special" copy of the 9th edition has recently been discovered.

2007-10-03 Whilst rummaging through a box of stuff, we came across our Guinness Record Breakers Club welcome pack from 1985. We were member number 001016. Did anyone else join the club?

2007-09-28 The 2008 Guinness World Records Book has been launched in the UK. Read the full Press Release (PDF).

2007-09-26 We have acquired an unusual special edition of the June 1966 Bantam publication, which was produced for the Chicago Daily News.

2007-09-13 Another new addition to our collection is a copy of a first edition Guinness Book of Superlatives from the U.S.A. To celebrate, we've started a new page for U.S. editions.

2007-08-30 We just obtained a copy of the 1976 BBC Record Breakers book signed by Norris McWhirter. The dedication is to "Walter". If anyone knows who Walter is, please get in touch.

2007-08-14 According to reports, 114 year-old Yone Minagawa died at a hospital in Fukuoka Prefecture in Japan on Monday. This leaves Edna Parker of Shelbyville, Indiana as the world's oldest person. Edna lives in the same Heritage House Convalescent Center as Sandy Allen, the world's tallest woman at 7 feet, 7 inches.