As part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the journal Sociology, four e-special issues have been produced to explore specific themes across the journal’s history. In this e-special, we examine how social class has been discussed during the early years of the journal, 1967–1979. Based on our selection of 10 past articles, and two more recent articles, we examine two broad themes. First, we consider how social class has been conceptualised, paying particular attention to the notion of embourgeoisement. Second, we turn to methodological considerations and discuss how approaches to researching class have evolved over time. This e-special provides not only an opportunity to celebrate the Sociology back catalogue but also to re-appraise some of the classic contributions from the first decade of the journal’s history.