NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR

First edition, first printing. Publisher's original green cloth with red titles to the spine, in the maroon Michael Kennard designed dustwrapper. Top edge purple. An excellent near fine copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth bright and fresh with a little fading to the extreme edges. The contents are clean throughout and without inscriptions or stamps. The text block edge is a little toned with a few spots of foxing to the top edge, the purple however remains vivid and without fading. Complete with very good rubbed and nicked dustwrapper, that has a couple of small chips with associated creasing to the upper tip of the habitually faded spine. The present example, in entirely original condition, does retain some of its red colour to the spine panel rendering the white titles still legible and is therefore uncommon thus. Not price-clipped (10s net to the lower front flap). Housed in a bespoke grey and black quarter morocco solander case.

The first printing of Nineteen Eighty-Four was published on 8th June 1949, the 25,000 copies issued in two colours of dustwrapper, identical in all but the background colour of the upper panel and spine, one being green, the other maroon. Although no precedence has been established, the maroon would appear to be scarcer of the two and is considered the more desirable. (Fenwick A12a).