Orwell, George | First American edition of Orwell's first book

Orwell, George

Down and Out in London and Paris. New York and London: Harper & Brothers, 1933

8vo (212 x 136 mm). Half-title, title with publisher's device. Publisher's purple cloth, spine lettered in black with alternating purple stripes, in green pictorial dustjacket, green pictorial endpapers matching the jacket; light soiling to top edge, dustjacket slightly browned at head, some small chips at extremities. In a quarter black morocco slipcase with folding chemise.

First American edition of Orwell's first published book—the famous, semi-autobiographical account of poverty and life on the margins in two of Europe's most prosperous cities. The book sold poorly in the United States, perhaps due to the Depression. Copies in the dustjacket are scarce.