posted
I've been going through a bit of a cleaning-out exercise on the book front recently. Well to tell the truth, i've just started to go through a cleaning out exercise. Basically i've got way too many books, they're all over the place, and once i've sorted out a job lot I can prune out properly i'm going to pay a bit of a visit to the charity shop.
That's by the by, anyway, as i've been going through the lot, I came across one I completely forgot I had. It's basically a huge coffee table sized - actually if you put legs on it, you could use it as a bloody coffee table - facsimile of George Orwell's original manuscript for '1984'. On one page is the original mansucript, including crossings out in pencil, pen and what looks like some sort of crayon, with a typed thing on the other page, contaning the full transcript including often lengthy passages, sometimes pages and pages that have been crossed out, and making legible George Orwell's often indecipherable, scrawling spidery handwriting.
It's great actually, and was bought for me as a present when I was a kid by one of my sisters boyfriends who worked as a bookseller, so i've no intention whatsoever of getting rid of it. It says on the front that it was a limited edition published for about a week or so in 1984. I don't know wether that means it's rare or anything, so i've been having a looksee on the web to see if I can spot it anywhere and I can't - admittedly I have only looked on amazon and ebay though.
Do you reckon it's worth owt. Like I say i've no intention of selling it 'cause I like it, and I have a policy to never sell presents anyway, I just wouldn't mind knowing to be honest.
One ace thing you discover by the way is that GO had about four goes at the opening iconic sentence, you should see the crossing out he did there, it's mad.
[ 18.05.2005, 12:43: Message edited by: Matt P ]
Posts: 9018 | From: The Sticks | Registered: May 2002
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posted
Assuming it's the same edition as on Amazon, you can get it for between £10 and £124 second hand. Abebooks, however, has it for up to $750.
Posts: 12612 | From: London | Registered: Oct 2002
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posted
Ah, that's definately the feller. Cheers GY.
Odd though, I couldn't find it when I typed 'George Orwell Facsimile 1984' into amazon, came up unlisted; that nowhere near as odd as the price differences there though. What kind of auctioneer is that? Do I hear ten? Do I hear one-hundered and twenty?
No intention of selling it, any road.
Posts: 9018 | From: The Sticks | Registered: May 2002
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posted
"One ace thing you discover by the way is that GO had about four goes at the opening iconic sentence, you should see the crossing out he did there, it's mad"
posted
Here's a description of the $150 one: First trade edition. Folio. Full crimson cloth, lettered in gilt on the spine. Dust jacket. Publisher's board slipcase.
Here's a description of the $750 one: Limited edition, one of 275 copies quarterbound in navy Niger goat over marbled boards, from a total edition of 350 copies. Lettered in gilt on the spine. Folio. Publisher's cloth slipcase. Fine.
Posts: 12612 | From: London | Registered: Oct 2002
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