Is My Mr. Mulliner Speaking a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First printing of the second Mulliner story collection (McIlvaine A40a)
• The UK Herbert Jenkins edition (London, 30 April 1929), 320 pages, precedes the US Doubleday, Doran edition (21 February 1930)
• Bound in orange cloth stamped in black on the boards and spine, with plain endpapers
• The first-state dust jacket carries its printed price on the backstrip (present on an unclipped first-issue jacket; original jackets are notably scarce for this title)

How Herbert Jenkins marked a first edition

• The identification method depends on the era, because Jenkins changed practice around 1929-1930. This is the single most important point: do not apply one rule to all Jenkins books.

Full Herbert Jenkins first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

UK Herbert Jenkins is the true first (30 April 1929, McIlvaine A40a); the US Doubleday, Doran edition followed on 21 February 1930. Confirm by the orange cloth stamped in black and the 1929 Jenkins imprint.P-023631

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue.P-023632

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Mr. Mulliner Speaking a first edition?

A first edition of Mr. Mulliner Speaking by P.G. Wodehouse (Herbert Jenkins) is identified by: First printing of the second Mulliner story collection (McIlvaine A40a).

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. UK Herbert Jenkins is the true first (30 April 1929, McIlvaine A40a); the US Doubleday, Doran edition followed on 21 February 1930.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

No book-club issue.

I have a first edition of Mr. Mulliner Speaking — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.