720 Million Copies Quotations of Chairman Mao Are Printed and Distributed in Under Four Years

In May 1964 the Central Intelligence Bureau of the Chinese People's Liberation Army issued in Beijing or Tianjin Mao Zedong, Mao Zhu XI Yu Lu (Quotations of Chairman Mao.) This "probably still holds the world record for most copies printed of a single work in under four years (720 million books by the end of 1967)."

See Oliver Lei Han,"Sources and Early Printing History of Chairman Mao’s 'QUOTATIONS',", @The Bibliographical Society of America Bibsite, accessed 11-30-2010).

Here is a description of the first edition adapted from Michael R. Thompson Autumn Miscellany, List 96, accessed 11-30-2010:

"MAO TSE TUNG [MAO ZEDONG]. Mao zhuxi yulu [Chinese, i.e., Quotations of Chairman Mao]. [n.p., probably Beijing: Central Intelligence Bureau of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, May, 1964]. Sixteenmo, with the page size measuring 5 3/8: x 4.” 2, half-title printed in red with blank verso], [2, title printed in green and red with blank verso], [2, portrait of Mao in brown tones, with blank verso], [2, endorsement leaf by Lin Biao with blank verso], 2 (letterpress introduction), 2 (table of contents, listing 30 chapters), 250 pp. The endorsement leaf is in the earliest state, with the misprint in the second character down of the second vertical row from the right. (See Oliver Han Lei, “How Read is the Little Red Book, in the Antiquarian Book Review, November 2003). In the earliest binding of off-white paper wrappers with front cover printed in black and red, and spine printed in red.

"First edition, distinguishable from other editions by its slightly larger paper size, by containing thirty chapters and ending at page 250. Contains the Lin Biao’s endorsement leaf, with three sentences for the diary of Lei Feng, printed letterpress in calligraphic script. The endorsement leaf is lacking in most copies because of political circumstances. Lin Biao, head of National Defense, had risen in power within the Mao hierarchy and was designated to become Mao’s successor. However, rumors surfaced that Lin was planning to assassinate Mao. While never completely proven, they caused Lin to leave suddenly on a military transport for an undisclosed location when their plane was shot down in Mongolia on the evening of September 12, 1971. Subsequently, Mao attempted to eradicate his name from modern history, and the endorsement leaf was ordered to be torn out or defaced in all copies as a sign of loyalty to Mao. Therefore, copies with the endorsement leaf are uncommon.

"The first state was printed in an edition of 50,000-60,000 copies. It was never intended for sale, but was issued to members of the military as inspirational reading. It was only in the second state that the well-known vinyl cover first appeared. By 1967, the book had been translated into more than thirty-six languages and an estimated 720 million copies had been printed. . . ."