# Is "A Woman of No Importance" by Oscar Wilde a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde (John Lane, The Bodley Head, 1894) is identified by: First edition limited to 500 copies, small quarto, collating 154, [1] pp., bound in mauve cloth decoratively stamped in gilt to a cover-and-spine design by Charles Shannon.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition limited to 500 copies, small quarto, collating 154, [1] pp., bound in mauve cloth decoratively stamped in gilt to a cover-and-spine design by Charles Shannon
- Standard copies carry 16 pages of publisher's advertisements at the rear dated March 1894
- A separate large-paper issue of 50 copies, printed on handmade paper and bound differently from the trade issue, was produced alongside the ordinary issue
- Publisher imprint reads John Lane, The Bodley Head
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Oscar Wilde |
| Publisher | John Lane, The Bodley Head |
| Year | 1894 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition limited to 500 copies, small quarto, collating 154, [1] pp., bound in mauve cloth decoratively stamped in gilt to a… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition limited to 500 copies, small quarto, collating 154, [1] pp., bound in mauve cloth decoratively stamped in gilt to a cover-and-spine design by Charles Shannon. Standard copies carry 16 pages of publisher's advertisements at the rear dated March 1894. A separate large-paper issue of 50 copies, printed on handmade paper and bound differently from the trade issue, was produced alongside the ordinary issue.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Woman of No Importance* by Oscar Wilde a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-woman-of-no-importance
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.