# Is "The Mating Season" by P.G. Wodehouse a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Mating Season by P.G. Wodehouse (Herbert Jenkins, 1949) is identified by: First printing of the UK Herbert Jenkins edition (a Jeeves and Bertie Wooster novel), an octavo bound in orange cloth with titles stamped in black to the spine, collating 246 pages plus two pages of publisher's advertisements, in the pictorial dust wrapper with the printed price present. The UK Herbert Jenkins edition is the true first; the US Didier edition followed in 1949 and is a distinct setting adding ten illustrations and a dust-wrapper drawing by Hal McIntosh.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing of the UK Herbert Jenkins edition (a Jeeves and Bertie Wooster novel), an octavo bound in orange cloth with titles stamped in black to the spine, collating 246 pages plus two pages of publisher's advertisements, in the pictorial dust wrapper with the printed price present
- Published in the UK on 9 September 1949, ahead of the US Didier edition of 29 November 1949
- Publisher imprint reads Herbert Jenkins
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | P.G. Wodehouse |
| Publisher | Herbert Jenkins |
| Year | 1949 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing of the UK Herbert Jenkins edition (a Jeeves and Bertie Wooster novel), an octavo bound in orange cloth with titles stamped… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First printing of the UK Herbert Jenkins edition (a Jeeves and Bertie Wooster novel), an octavo bound in orange cloth with titles stamped in black to the spine, collating 246 pages plus two pages of publisher's advertisements, in the pictorial dust wrapper with the printed price present. Published in the UK on 9 September 1949, ahead of the US Didier edition of 29 November 1949.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Herbert Jenkins edition is the true first; the US Didier edition followed in 1949 and is a distinct setting adding ten illustrations and a dust-wrapper drawing by Hal McIntosh.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue affecting the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Mating Season* by P.G. Wodehouse a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-mating-season
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.