# Is "Three Guineas" by Virginia Woolf a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Three Guineas by Virginia Woolf (The Hogarth Press, 1938) is identified by: True first is the Hogarth Press, London, published 2 June 1938 (Kirkpatrick A23a), 16,250 copies, in pale yellow cloth lettered in gilt on the spine, with five monotone photographic plates, in a Vanessa Bell dust jacket. The Hogarth (London), 2 June 1938 edition precedes the first American edition (Harcourt, Brace, New York), published 25 August 1938; the London Hogarth is the priority true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is the Hogarth Press, London, published 2 June 1938 (Kirkpatrick A23a), 16,250 copies, in pale yellow cloth lettered in gilt on the spine, with five monotone photographic plates, in a Vanessa Bell dust jacket
- Key binding point of issue: only about half the first impression was issued in this yellow cloth as the first edition; the remaining sheets were bound in green cloth five years later for the Uniform Edition — so the original pale-yellow cloth is the first-issue tell
- All five plates must be present
- Publisher imprint reads The Hogarth Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Virginia Woolf |
| Publisher | The Hogarth Press |
| Year | 1938 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first is the Hogarth Press, London, published 2 June 1938 (Kirkpatrick A23a), 16,250 copies, in pale yellow cloth lettered in gilt on… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
True first is the Hogarth Press, London, published 2 June 1938 (Kirkpatrick A23a), 16,250 copies, in pale yellow cloth lettered in gilt on the spine, with five monotone photographic plates, in a Vanessa Bell dust jacket. Key binding point of issue: only about half the first impression was issued in this yellow cloth as the first edition; the remaining sheets were bound in green cloth five years later for the Uniform Edition — so the original pale-yellow cloth is the first-issue tell. All five plates must be present.

## Is this the true first?
The Hogarth (London), 2 June 1938 edition precedes the first American edition (Harcourt, Brace, New York), published 25 August 1938; the London Hogarth is the priority true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Green-cloth copies made up from leftover 1938 sheets belong to the later Uniform Edition, not the first edition; the first is identified by the pale yellow cloth.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Three Guineas* by Virginia Woolf a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/three-guineas
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.