# Is "Animal Farm" by George Orwell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Animal Farm by George Orwell (Secker & Warburg, 1945) is identified by: True first: Secker & Warburg August 1945 in pale green cloth, dust jacket with its printed price, the jacket WITHOUT the later second-issue 'plain' design; first-issue jacket has the correct blurb. UK Secker & Warburg 1945 is the true first; US (Harcourt Brace, 1946) follows.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first: Secker & Warburg August 1945 in pale green cloth, dust jacket with its printed price, the jacket WITHOUT the later second-issue 'plain' design; first-issue jacket has the correct blurb
- The 'the printed price' price on the jacket
- Publisher imprint reads Secker & Warburg
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | George Orwell |
| Publisher | Secker & Warburg |
| Year | 1945 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first: Secker & Warburg August 1945 in pale green cloth, dust jacket with its printed price, the jacket WITHOUT the later second-issue… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
True first: Secker & Warburg August 1945 in pale green cloth, dust jacket with its printed price, the jacket WITHOUT the later second-issue 'plain' design; first-issue jacket has the correct blurb. The 'the printed price' price on the jacket.

## Is this the true first?
UK Secker & Warburg 1945 is the true first; US (Harcourt Brace, 1946) follows. The first-issue jacket (with its printed price, correct blurb) versus the second-issue jacket is the key point. Orwell-signed copies are exceedingly rare.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
US and book-club editions are not the UK first; second-issue jackets and reprints differ in price and blurb.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Animal Farm* by George Orwell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/animal-farm
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.