Books

The Fountain Press and The Hogarth Press: New York and London, 1929. First Edition. Near Fine. First edition, large paper issue, copy number 400 of a limited 492 signed by Virginia Woolf in purple ink. Publisher's original red cloth covered boards with titles in gilt on spine. Near Fine with subtle sunning to cloth, trivial wear to corners and spine ends and toning to pages. A lovely copy of Woolf's feminist essay, which proclaims "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.

A Room of One's Own is an extended essay by Virginia Woolf, first published in September 1929. The work is based on two lectures Woolf delivered at Newnham College and Girton College, two women's colleges at the University of Cambridge. In this essay, Woolf addresses the limitations and prejudices that affect women writers and the conditions necessary for their creative work. The book is noted for its famous dictum, 'A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.'

One method of determining if a copy of 'A Room of One's Own' is a first edition is to check the publisher and date. First editions were published by Hogarth Press in 1929. Additionally, identifying features such as the presence of dust jackets, specific cover designs, and typographical errors that were corrected in later editions can also indicate a first edition.