BETWEEN THE ACTS

Mecklenburgh Square, London: The Hogarth Press, 1941. Very Good.. Publisher's bright blue cloth, lettered in gilt. 256 pp. 7⅛ x 4¾ in. White dust jacket printed in black, designed by Vanessa Bell, with "Vanessa" in the bottom right corner rather than the usual "V.B." Boards clean, spine has sunned line at crown where it sat proud from the dust wrapper; minor shelf-wear, offsetting to endsheets, ink ownership signature on front free endpaper with the date "July, 1941" which is the date of publication. Light crease on title page. Rear endsheets have a book review by Woolf's friend Desmond MacCarthy in the Observer, another laid in by Richard Church in an unidentified publication, and yet another in Time and Tide 17 May 1941 by Lord David Cecil entitled "A Note of Virginia Woolf." Dust jacket has one chip near top of spine, tiny closed tear on top edge of rear panel, and the usual smudges a white dust jacket would have. From the collection of R. O. Blechman, an American animator, illustrator, children's-book author, graphic novelist and editorial cartoonist whose work has been the subject of retrospectives at the Museum of Modern Art and other institutions.

First edition, first impression. Published 17 July 1941 at 7s. 6d; 6,358 copies printed.  A note by Leonard Woolf precedes the text. In this, her final novel, Woolf explores themes of time, memory, and the complexities of human experience. Set in England on a summer's day in the 1930s, the story takes place during a village pageant at a country house called Pointz Hall. Through the perspective of various characters, the novel delves into their inner thoughts, desires, and fears. Woolf weaves together the past, present, and future, blending reality and imagination, as the pageant serves as a reflection of the characters' lives and the changing world around them. The book contemplates the fleeting nature of existence and the way art can capture and transcend the passing of time. Vanessa Bell's dust jacket design, depicting flowers and a stage curtain, aligns with the theme of performance and the idea of being "between the acts." The curtain being drawn signifies a pause or intermission in a theatrical performance, creating a sense of anticipation for what is to come next. WOOLMER 488; KIRKPATRICK A26a.