Books

New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1949. First American Edition. Near Fine/Near Fine. First American edition, first printing. [iv], 314 pp. Bound in publisher's beige cloth lettered in red and black. Near Fine with trivial wear to corners and spine ends and contents tanned. In a Near Fine unclipped dust jacket with light wear at extremities with a short closed tear at the foot of the front panel, tanning, fading to spine. A great copy of Orwell's last and most-celebrated work.

"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.