Animal Farm – George Orwell – 1946 | First U.S. Edition, Original Jacket

This US first edition of George Orwell’s Animal Farm, published by Harcourt, Brace and Company in 1946, appeared a year after its original UK release. Orwell’s satirical novel critically addresses Stalinism, revolutionary politics, and events surrounding the rise of totalitarianism preceding World War II, using the allegory of farm animals coexisting under oppressive rule.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Animal Farm
• Author(s): George Orwell
• Publisher: New York, Harcourt, Brace and Company
• Edition: First American Edition, 1946.
• Format: Octavo, single volume
• Binding: Original publisher’s cloth
  • Includes original dust jacket
• Size: ~ 7.75in x 5.25in (19.5cm x 13cm)
• Collation: [4], 118pp
• Reference(s): Stringer 22
  • “A political fable that partly recounts, in an allegorical mode, the aftermath of the Russian revolution, and partly illustrates a belief in the universal tendency of power to corrupt” – Stringer

Condition:

Very Good. Bound in original cloth with a slightly toned spine and clean panels. The small octavo volume is bound in original black cloth with gilt spine lettering, and retains its scarce, unclipped dust jacket designed by Art Brenner, priced at $1.75, showing typical edgewear and minor chipping from the postwar era. Internally complete, square, and clearly marked as “first American edition,” this printing was produced during wartime-related publishing constraints, contributing to its relative scarcity with intact jackets.

Why Collect This?

• First U.S. appearance of Orwell’s well-known work
• Jacket present; often lacking