NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR

First edition, first printing. Original green cloth with red titles to the spine, in the green Michael Kennard designed dustwrapper. Top edge purple. A very good or better copy, the binding square and firm with minor rubbing and bumping to the spine tips, the cloth fresh. The contents are clean throughout and without foxing or previous owner's inscriptions. Complete with the rubbed and nicked dustwrapper that has several short closed tears with associated creasing and small chips at the the spine tips and fold corners. Not price-clipped (10s net to the lower front flap). A decent example in entirely original condition.

The first printing of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four was published on 8th June 1949, the 25,000 copies issued in two colours of dustwrapper. Both are identical in all but the background colour of the upper panel and spine, one being green, the other maroon. No precedence has been established, although all known author inscribed presentation copies of the first edition are in the green dustwrapper. (Fenwick A12a).