A VINDICATION OF THE RIGHTS OF WOMAN by WOLLSTONECRAFT, MARY - 1792

London: Printed for J. Johnson, 1792. FIRST EDITION. 217 x 137 mm. (8 1/2 x 5 3/8"). xix, [1], 452 pp.
In a very pleasing and convincing replica binding of calf-backed marbled boards, flat spine with plain, stippled, and scalloped gilt rules, red morocco label. A few marginal notes and corrections in pen and pencil. PMM 242; Lowndes IV, 2977; Shattock, "Oxford Guide to British Women Writers," pp. 469-71. ◆Four-inch portion of defective fore margin of one leaf expertly renewed (well away from the text), title and another leaf with very small and expert paper repairs at the top, two prefatory leaves with fore edge minimally frayed and trimmed at a slightly oblique angle (the leaves perhaps once taken out and put back in--though original with the book, not supplied), occasional marginal soiling, a handful of leaves lightly foxed or stained, other very minor imperfections, but generally clean and still fresh internally, and in an unworn retrospective binding. A very agreeable copy of a book almost always found in unappealing condition.

This is an excellent copy of a landmark in the history of women's rights, called by Shattock "a powerful plea for a change in society's perceptions of the function and potential of women." Wollstonecraft (1759-97) wrote it in just three months, and lamented, "had I allowed myself more time I could have written a better book." It met with some immediate popular success (by 1794 it had been translated into French and German as well as published in America), and it has remained ever since a work of the greatest importance in the field of women's rights. PMM says that Wollstonecraft wrote "that her main argument was 'built on this simple principle that, if woman be not prepared by education to become the companion of man, she will stop the progress of knowledge, for truth must be common to all.' The main part of her book was written in an equally plain and direct style, and it was this, as well as the idea of writing a book on the subject at all, which caused the outcry which ensued. There was indeed nothing specially shocking in her matter. She did not attack the institution of marriage or the practice of religion. Instead, she argued for a rational basis to the relation between the sexes." As the "Feminist Companion to Literature in English notes, "its passion and inclusiveness fully merit its classic status." Our first printing is not particularly rare, but copies that appear are typically in unappealing condition, or worse..