Books

New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1949. Stated at copyright page: "first American edition". Tan full cloth boards, bold red cover and spine titles, light shelf wear, clean. Pages near fine, clean; no writing Bind fine, slight cant; hinges intact. Original first edition dust wrapper, moderate shelf wear; unclipped 3.00, protected in new clear sleeve. Classic mid-twentieth century wrapper in bright blue with bold black titles. Caricature of Orwell at back panel by George Holland. Rare near fine first edition in very good original wrapper. Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 - 21 January 1950) utilizing his pseudonym, George Orwell, composed this narrative message in 1948 and juxtaposed the numbers to 1984 as its time and place. The novel was first published in 1949 and he would pass the following January of 1950 at the age of 46. 1984 is the year in which it happened! The world is divided into three great powers, Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia, each perpetually at war.…

"1984" is a dystopian novel set in a totalitarian society ruled by a party led by the enigmatic figure, Big Brother. The story revolves around Winston Smith, a disillusioned man working for the Party whose job involves altering historical records to align with the Party's propaganda. Winston secretly harbors dissenting thoughts against the oppressive regime and begins a forbidden love affair with Julia, a fellow rebel. As they engage in acts of rebellion and attempt to challenge the Party's control, they are drawn into a web of surveillance, manipulation, and betrayal. The novel explores themes of censorship, surveillance, the nature of truth, the dangers of totalitarianism, and the resilience of the human spirit against oppressive regimes.

The first edition can be identified by the publisher Secker & Warburg and the publication date of 8 June 1949, as well as the absence of a dust jacket that later variation contained. The first edition was published in both RED and GREEN jackets at the same time. It is considered that the red jacket is the more collectible as it was seemingly printed in a smaller quantity than the green jacket.