Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)

A first impression of Nineteen Eighty-Four is bound in green cloth with the spine lettered in red, and was published by Secker & Warburg on 8 June 1949. Its jacket, designed by Michael Kennard, is priced 10s net on the front flap.

The question every buyer asks is red or green. The jacket was issued in two background colours, red (sometimes described as maroon) and green, with otherwise identical designs, and both were used on the first impression. Most authorities give neither priority. Roughly two green jackets survive for every red one, so red is scarcer and usually fetches more, but a green jacket is not a later issue.

What to check:

• Binding: green cloth, spine lettered in red.
• Jacket: Michael Kennard's design in red or green, priced 10s net.
• Copyright page: later impressions from 1950 are in the same green cloth, so confirm the impression before paying a first edition price.

American copies from Harcourt Brace, including book club copies with a small blind dot on the rear board, are a different edition entirely.

The first printing was large for the period, which is why good copies still appear regularly. Value depends on the jacket colour, a bright spine panel and the absence of price clipping.

Sources: Bonhams, Lucius Books, Bauman Rare Books, Shapero, First and Fine, John Atkinson Books and PBFA, following Fenwick.