# Is "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" by Mary Wollstonecraft a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft (J. Johnson, London, 1792) is identified by: First edition, London: printed for J. The Johnson London 1792 printing is the true first; English is the original language and there is no competing prior edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, London: printed for J. Johnson, 1792
- Octavo, in one volume
- The defining point is the volume designation: the first edition is styled "VOL. I." and the text ends "End of the first volume" — Wollstonecraft intended a second volume that was never written or printed, so the single volume is complete as issued despite appearing to lack a sequel
- Issued in publisher's plain paper-covered boards with a fragile paper backstrip; unrestored copies in boards commonly lack the backstrip, exposing the original stitching, and copies in contemporary calf are the usual survival
- References: Printing and the Mind of Man 242
- Windle A5a
- Publisher imprint reads J. Johnson, London

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Mary Wollstonecraft |
| Publisher | J. Johnson, London |
| Year | 1792 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, London: printed for J. Johnson, 1792 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, London: printed for J. Johnson, 1792. Octavo, in one volume. The defining point is the volume designation: the first edition is styled "VOL. I." and the text ends "End of the first volume" — Wollstonecraft intended a second volume that was never written or printed, so the single volume is complete as issued despite appearing to lack a sequel. Issued in publisher's plain paper-covered boards with a fragile paper backstrip; unrestored copies in boards commonly lack the backstrip, exposing the original stitching, and copies in contemporary calf are the usual survival. References: Printing and the Mind of Man 242; Windle A5a; ESTC T50903; Goldsmiths' 15366; CBEL II:656.

## Is this the true first?
The Johnson London 1792 printing is the true first; English is the original language and there is no competing prior edition. Johnson issued a revised second edition later in 1792 with Wollstonecraft's own corrections and a revised dedication to Talleyrand but the same pagination as the first — the identical page count makes an unread title page dangerous, so the edition statement on the title must be checked. An American edition also appeared in 1792 and is separately collected, but priority between the two American printings is genuinely contested and is NOT asserted here: the Philadelphia edition printed by William Gibbons, 1792 (collating xvi, [17]-274 pp. plus contents and advertisement leaves) is described by dealers as the first American, while a Boston 1792 edition printed by Peter Edes for Thomas and Andrews was, by the same dealer's own account, advertised for sale before the Philadelphia one; some reference sources instead date the first American book edition to 1794. Buyers should treat "first American edition" claims for 1792 as unresolved pending an Evans/ESTC-level comparison.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club editions exist for a work of this period. The nearest reprint traps are Johnson's own revised second edition of 1792 (same pagination, edition statement on the title), the 1796 Johnson printing (which is why cataloguers sometimes list a copy as "1792 or 1796" when the title leaf is defective), the several 1790s American and Irish printings, and the French translation. Any copy without "VOL. I." on the title and "End of the first volume" at the close of the text should be treated as a later edition until proven otherwise.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Vindication of the Rights of Woman* by Mary Wollstonecraft a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-vindication-of-the-rights-of-woman
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.