WODEHOUSE, P.G. Enter Psmith.

The P is ‘Silent. Like the Tomb.’

WODEHOUSE, P.G. Enter Psmith. London: A & C Black. 1935.

8vo. Publisher’s teal cloth, spine and upper board lettered in red, in the illustrated dust-jacket by J.H. Hartley priced 2/6 to spine; pp. [8], 247, [1 (blank)]; jacket neatly restored at head of spine and front panel, a little scuffing to whites of jacket, spine ends sunned prior to restoration of jacket, light spotting and toning to textblock, top-edge slightly dusty; front free endpaper excised, half-title lightly toned; otherwise internally very good; small bookseller’s ticket of The Eagle Press, Wakefield to rear pastedown, loosely inserted invoice for Tony Ring (see below).

First edition thus, first printing of the first standalone appearance of the ‘old Etonian’ Ronald Psmith, whose ‘preliminary P before the name … is silent. Like the tomb.’

Enter Psmith reprints Chapters 30–59 of Mike (1909) as a standalone novel, comprising the second half of Wodehouse’s sixth school novel.

Provenance: From the library of eminent Wodehouse authority and collector Tony Ring, former President of the International Wodehouse Association and former editor of Wooster Sauce. His invoice from John Cowen at Ransome Books, dated 21 July 1970, is loosely inserted.

Mcllvaine A12c.

SKU: 2126291