Page 80 - Cat Salon Paris 2018

First edition first printing of Animal Farm,
one of the most influential literary work of the 20th century.

An attractive copy kept in its original cloth, with dust jacket, as issued.

55. orwell, George. animal Farm a fairy story.
Secker & Warburg, London, 1945.

8vo of 92 pages.
Original green cloth, slight fading and rubbing to spine ends, dust jacket (slightly
creased at folds, small chips at corners, a little chipped and nicked at extremities),
manuscript ex-libris “David Jones” on first blank, green half-morocco case.

185 x 122 mm.

first edition first PrintinG with the words “First Published May 1945” Printed on coPy-
riGht PaGe.
Fewnick A.10a.

th
One of the most important literary works of the 20 century, the satirical-political masterpiece
that so magnificently reflects the events leading up to the Russian Revolution and brilliantly
caricatures Stalinism.
George Orwell considered Animal Farm his breakthrough, the book which brought together
his gifts as a novelist with his commitment as a political writer. He deliberately tried « to fuse
political purpose and artistic purpose into one whole ». Animal Farm brilliantly portrays not
only the corruption of the revolution, but also how traits of human character themselves corrupt
society. The work was written between late 1943 and early 1944, when the wartime alliance
with the Soviet Union was at its height and Stalin was held in highest esteem in Britain, among
both the people and intelligentsia. Not surprisingly, it was initially rejected by both British and
American publishers, and the publication of it was thus delayed. When it did appear, it became
a great commercial success, however, probably not least due to the soon to follow Cold War.
« Ecrit entre 1943 et 1944, alors que G. Orwell travaillait à la B.B.C., cette satire, l’une des plus
cruelles et des plus terribles, s’insère dans cette tradition anglaise qui cherche dans le royaume
d’Utopie, depuis More et Swift, à se venger des désillusions du présent ».
“Animal Farm shows how an initial idealism can turn into exploitation and how ordinary people
can lose their freedom in small incremental steps. Animal Farm belongs to a literature of argu-
ment, a committed literature that means to make a difference in the world, yet it still resonates
long after the system that occasioned it has passed from the scene” (Morris Dickstein).

The work is considered one of the most influential literary productions of the 20th century.
an attractive coPy of the first edition, first PrintinG, with dust JacKet.

6 000 €