# Is "The Road to Wigan Pier" by George Orwell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell (Victor Gollancz / Left Book Club, 1937) is identified by: London: Victor Gollancz, 8 March 1937. Both forms appeared the same day, 8 March 1937; the small trade cloth edition with dust jacket is the preferred and far scarcer form, the Left Book Club issue being a members-only limp-bound printing.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- London: Victor Gollancz, 8 March 1937
- Issued in two simultaneous forms: the trade edition in blue cloth lettered in yellow on the spine, with a yellow printed dust jacket, in a small printing of about 2,150 copies; and the Left Book Club edition in limp orange cloth printed in black ('Left Book Club Edition / Not for Sale to the Public'), in roughly 44,150 copies
- Both forms contain all 32 photographic plates
- The trade cloth copy with its yellow jacket is the collected first
- Publisher imprint reads Victor Gollancz / Left Book Club
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | George Orwell |
| Publisher | Victor Gollancz / Left Book Club |
| Year | 1937 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | London: Victor Gollancz, 8 March 1937 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
London: Victor Gollancz, 8 March 1937. Issued in two simultaneous forms: the trade edition in blue cloth lettered in yellow on the spine, with a yellow printed dust jacket, in a small printing of about 2,150 copies; and the Left Book Club edition in limp orange cloth printed in black ('Left Book Club Edition / Not for Sale to the Public'), in roughly 44,150 copies. Both forms contain all 32 photographic plates. The trade cloth copy with its yellow jacket is the collected first.

## Is this the true first?
Both forms appeared the same day, 8 March 1937; the small trade cloth edition with dust jacket is the preferred and far scarcer form, the Left Book Club issue being a members-only limp-bound printing.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Distinguish the trade first (blue cloth, yellow titles, yellow jacket) from the Left Book Club issue (limp orange cloth, no jacket, 'Not for Sale to the Public' on the front cover).

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Road to Wigan Pier* by George Orwell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-road-to-wigan-pier
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.