History of the Peerage & Baronetage:

The first Peerage bearing the name J. Debrett on the title page was published in 1802, though prior to that date various editors had published a number of other records of the Peerage & Baronetage.

The need for authentic records of inheritance arose after the Civil War, when a number of spurious claims to titles were made. William Dugdale, Norroy King of Arms, edited the first Baronage of England in 1675/76, with a new Baronage produced by Abel Roper and Arthur Collins in 1709.

Roper's name was omitted from subsequent editions, but Collins continued to publish the new Baronage. He produced a number of versions of the Baronage and a Peerage, of which three editions appeared between the years 1741 to 1756, before his death in 1760.

John Almon, a bookseller, came into possession of Collins's papers upon his death, and became the unnamed editor of the fourth edition of Collins's Peerage of England. He then compiled and edited a rival catalogue of the peerage called The New Peerage, of which two editions appeared in 1769 and 1778.