George Orwell

First printing of Orwell’s biting political allegory.

• George Orwell (English).
• London: Secker & Warburg, 1945.
• 92 pages.
• “First Published May 1945” printed on half-title verso.
• Previous owner’s label to front free endpaper and signature to front paste-down.
• Bound in original green cloth boards, spine lettered in white.
• Includes original unclipped (6s.) dust jacket, printed on reverse of a Searchlight Books jacket.
• Housed in custom clamshell case, green half morocco with green cloth boards and gilt spine lettering.

A Swiftian satirical fable of the Russian revolution, Animal Farm draws on the traditional children’s animal-tale form to devastating effect, with sharp portraits of the absolute corruption of power, the cynical deployment of rewritten history, and the exploitation of true believers unable to recognize the betrayal of their ideals. Restricted by WWII-era paper shortages to a print run of just 4500 copies, the dust jacket was likewise printed in some copies on the blank side of an unrelated Searchlight Books jacket to comply with restrictions, and the publication delayed from May until August of 1945. A beautiful copy of a wartime production.

Gillian Fenwick, George Orwell: A Bibliography, A.10a.