Lord of the Flies (1954)

Faber and Faber published Lord of the Flies on 17 September 1954 in a first printing of 3,000 copies. A first edition is bound in red cloth with the spine lettered in white, in Anthony Gross's jacket priced 12s 6d net on the front flap.

What to check:

• Binding: red cloth, spine lettered in white.
• Jacket: designed by Anthony Gross, priced 12s 6d net. Some guides give a lower price; 12s 6d is the figure several sources agree on.
• Print run: 3,000 copies, small for a book that became a school set text, which is why good copies are expensive.

The jacket is the key to value. The first issue jacket has no reviews printed on it; later jackets add press quotations, and they are often married to first edition books. Check the flaps and rear panel against a known first issue.

Other traps include copies rebound in leather, which lose their jacket and much of their value, the 1955 American edition from Coward-McCann, and proof copies, which are collected separately.

The red cloth is prone to fading at the spine and the white lettering can rub away, so look for a bright spine with legible lettering.

Sources: Sotheby's, Bauman Rare Books, Jonkers, First and Fine and Freeman's.