# Is "The Common Reader" by Virginia Woolf a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Common Reader by Virginia Woolf (The Hogarth Press, 1925) is identified by: True first is the Hogarth Press, London, 1925 (Kirkpatrick A8a; Woolmer 81 — the census note's implied number is corrected here to A8a, confirmed by Christie's), one of 1,250 copies. The Hogarth (London) edition, published April 1925, precedes the first American edition (Harcourt, Brace, New York), published 14 May 1925 in 2,000 copies.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is the Hogarth Press, London, 1925 (Kirkpatrick A8a
- Woolmer 81 — the census note's implied number is corrected here to A8a, confirmed by Christie's), one of 1,250 copies
- Bound in original paper-covered boards with a green-and-brown design by Vanessa Bell on the upper board and a grey cloth spine lettered in black, in a matching Vanessa Bell dust jacket
- This is the First Series; the identically titled Second Series is a separate book of 1932 and must not be conflated with it
- Publisher imprint reads The Hogarth Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Virginia Woolf |
| Publisher | The Hogarth Press |
| Year | 1925 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first is the Hogarth Press, London, 1925 (Kirkpatrick A8a |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
True first is the Hogarth Press, London, 1925 (Kirkpatrick A8a; Woolmer 81 — the census note's implied number is corrected here to A8a, confirmed by Christie's), one of 1,250 copies. Bound in original paper-covered boards with a green-and-brown design by Vanessa Bell on the upper board and a grey cloth spine lettered in black, in a matching Vanessa Bell dust jacket. This is the First Series; the identically titled Second Series is a separate book of 1932 and must not be conflated with it.

## Is this the true first?
The Hogarth (London) edition, published April 1925, precedes the first American edition (Harcourt, Brace, New York), published 14 May 1925 in 2,000 copies. Both bear 1925, but the London Hogarth is the priority true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
"First thus" trap: The Common Reader: Second Series (1932) is a distinct title, not a reprint of this book. Later Hogarth reprints and the Uniform Edition are resettings, not the 1925 first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Common Reader* by Virginia Woolf a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-common-reader
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.