"A WOMAN MUST HAVE MONEY AND A ROOM OF HER OWN IF SHE IS TO WRITE FICTION": SIGNED LIMITED FIRST EDITION OF VIRGINIA WOOLF'S CLASSIC

WOOLF, Virginia. A Room of One's Own. New York and London: Fountain Press/Hogarth Press, 1929. Tall, slim octavo, original red cloth, uncut. $14,000.

Signed limited first edition, number 286 of 492 copies signed by Woolf in her characteristic purple ink on the half title, of which only 450 were available for sale.

Woolf's foundational essay on women and writing has become a classic feminist text: Woolf's "aim was to establish a woman's tradition, recognizable by its circumstances, subject-matter, and its distinct problems… A Room of One's Own charted this vast territory with an air of innocent discovery which itself sharpens the case against induced ineffectiveness and ignorance that for so long clouded the counter-history of women" (Gordon, 182). "A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction," said Woolf, "and that, as you will see, leaves the great problem of the true nature of woman and the true nature of fiction unsolved." Printed in the U.S. by Robert Josephy and published on October 21, 1929, this edition preceded the English edition (both trade and signed) by three days. Kirkpatrick A12. Woolmer 215A. Small bookseller label to rear pastedown.

Text clean and fine, just a hint of discoloration to cloth at edges. A near-fine signed copy.