# Is "Nineteen Eighty-Four" by George Orwell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (Secker & Warburg, 1949) is identified by: UK true first: Secker & Warburg, London, 1949 — the copyright page states 'First published 1949' with no later-impression line. Secker & Warburg London 1949 is the true first; Harcourt, Brace, New York 1949, published only days later, is the first US edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK true first: Secker & Warburg, London, 1949 — the copyright page states 'First published 1949' with no later-impression line
- Green cloth, spine lettered in red, top edge stained red
- The first impression was issued in TWO dust-jacket colours, red and green, of identical design; both are correct first-issue jackets and no priority has been established between them, so condition and scarcity, not colour, drive desirability (dealers even disagree over which colour is the scarcer)
- The first-issue jacket carries the printed price 'the printed price' on the front flap
- Publisher imprint reads Secker & Warburg
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | George Orwell |
| Publisher | Secker & Warburg |
| Year | 1949 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK true first: Secker & Warburg, London, 1949 — the copyright page states 'First published 1949' with no later-impression line |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
UK true first: Secker & Warburg, London, 1949 — the copyright page states 'First published 1949' with no later-impression line. Green cloth, spine lettered in red, top edge stained red. The first impression was issued in TWO dust-jacket colours, red and green, of identical design; both are correct first-issue jackets and no priority has been established between them, so condition and scarcity, not colour, drive desirability (dealers even disagree over which colour is the scarcer). The first-issue jacket carries the printed price 'the printed price' on the front flap.

## Is this the true first?
Secker & Warburg London 1949 is the true first; Harcourt, Brace, New York 1949, published only days later, is the first US edition. Between the red and green Secker jackets there is no firm priority — both belong to the first impression — and most 'jacket priority' arguments are disputed. The first impression comprised about 26,575 copies.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
US trap: the Harcourt first was issued simultaneously with a Book-of-the-Month Club printing, and BOTH carry the 'first American edition' statement on the copyright verso, so that statement does NOT distinguish them. The BOMC copy is told by a small blind-stamped dot (or square) at a lower corner of the rear board and by the absence of a jacket price; the trade first has the price present. Later UK printings state 'Second impression' (etc.) on the verso. The red and green jacket colours are BOTH legitimate firsts, not a club-versus-trade distinction.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Nineteen Eighty-Four* by George Orwell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/nineteen-eighty-four
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.