The Hogarth Press edition of Mrs Dalloway is one of the most sought-after British modernist first editions. Published in May 1925 in an edition of approximately 2,000 copies, it represents Woolf’s breakthrough into the mature stream-of-consciousness style that would define her later work.
Identification
The first edition is easily identified by:
- Binding: Dark green cloth boards with gilt spine lettering reading “MRS DALLOWAY / VIRGINIA WOOLF / HOGARTH PRESS”
- Jacket: Pale yellow paper jacket with title and author in black sans-serif type. The first state has no price printed on the jacket.
- Colophon: States “First published 1925” on the verso of the title page.
- Size: Crown octavo (7½ × 5 inches).
Condition Notes
The yellow jacket is notoriously fugitive — it fades to cream when exposed to light and chips readily at the spine. Finding a copy with an unfaded, unchipped jacket is extremely difficult.