# Is "Piccadilly Jim" by P.G. Wodehouse a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Piccadilly Jim by P.G. Wodehouse (Dodd, Mead, 1917) is identified by: New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 24 February 1917. The US Dodd, Mead 1917 edition is the true first; the UK Herbert Jenkins edition followed in 1918.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 24 February 1917
- Bound in orange cloth lettered in black on the spine and front cover, with a color frontispiece and seven color plates by May Wilson Preston (eight plates in all when complete)
- The copyright-page/verso statement records that the first and second editions were printed before publication
- Publisher imprint reads Dodd, Mead
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | P.G. Wodehouse |
| Publisher | Dodd, Mead |
| Year | 1917 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 24 February 1917 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 24 February 1917. Bound in orange cloth lettered in black on the spine and front cover, with a color frontispiece and seven color plates by May Wilson Preston (eight plates in all when complete). The copyright-page/verso statement records that the first and second editions were printed before publication.

## Is this the true first?
The US Dodd, Mead 1917 edition is the true first; the UK Herbert Jenkins edition followed in 1918. The rare pictorial dust jacket, when present, should retain its printed spine and flap lettering.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue. Later Dodd, Mead printings are recorded on the copyright verso (third edition printed 26 February 1917 and onward); a complete first must retain all eight May Wilson Preston plates.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Piccadilly Jim* by P.G. Wodehouse a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/piccadilly-jim
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.