September 1939

September 1939 is the recorded first-publication date of Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. The month and year appear in both the ebook's bibliographic metadata and the book's imprint, anchoring the work's publication history while remaining distinct from the dates and settings of the poems themselves.

First Publication

The ebook metadata gives September 1939 as the date of first publication. The book's imprint independently records that it was first published in September Mcmxxxix, the same month and year expressed in Roman numerals. Together, the two records identify a publication date rather than a particular day within the month.

Publisher and Place

The imprint attributes the first publication to Faber and Faber Limited, at 24 Russell Square, London, W.C. 1. The date is thus part of a specific publication record: it is attached to the named publisher and its London address, not presented as an event within the poems.

Later Edition and Bibliographic Context

The ebook identifies a separate edition used as its base: the London Faber and Faber edition of December 1948, marked as the ninth impression. That later date refers to the edition underlying the ebook, not to the book's first publication. The metadata also records that the ebook was first posted on 12 January 2016, another distinct point in the work's publication and digital circulation history.

Significance of the Date

September 1939 functions as the work's bibliographic point of origin in the supplied records. Its repetition in the general metadata and the original imprint makes the first-publication month and year explicit, while the 1948 edition and 2016 posting show why the original date should not be confused with a later printing or the ebook's online release.