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"Members of the general public, such as myself, have a right to form and express their own opinions on the relationship between science and society": Rare typed letter signed by George Orwell regarding his views on science, scientists, and society
ORWELL, GEORGE.
George Orwell Typed Letter Signed.
: January 9, 1946.
Rare typed letter signed by the acclaimed author of Nineteen-Eighty Four, George Orwell; part of a long correspondence with scientist Edward R. Ward regarding his views on science. One page, typescript, the letter reads: ‘9th January 1946 Dear Mr. Ward, Your letter has been passed on to be by “Tribune”. I am sorry that in their correspondence columns I should have answered what was really an abridgement of your original letter; but I had not seen the latter, and I did not know that what was printed was a shortened version. I cannot enter into what might become a prolonged controversy, but I must stick to two of my original points: (a) that many scientists, including some of those you name, appear to adopt an extremely unscientific attitude towards problems in which their emotions and loyalties are involved; and (b) that members of the general public, such as myself, have a right to form and express their own opinions on the relationship between science and society. I do not know in what way your original letter was mutilated, but you did state quite clearly that I, as a journalist, had no right to express an opinion on matters that were the sole concern of scientists. It was this remark in your letter that led me to reply. The theologians make exactly similar claims – for example, that a member of the lay public has no right to air his opinions on such questions as the existence of God – and the one claim seems to me to be about as well founded as the other. Yours truly, “Geo. Orwell” George Orwell.’ With Orwell’s 27B Canonbury Square Islington London return address. From the late 19th century to the turn of the 20th century, English scientist Eduard R. Ward was a semi-professional microscopist and well-known figure in the Manchester scientific society. He was one of the founders of the Manchester Microscopical Society and remains best known for his photographic documentation of the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal. (Science-Gossip, 1901). First published in the Tribune on October 26, 1945, Orwell’s “What is Science” elaborated on the ideas summarized in his reply to Ward, essentially warning of the danger of leaving scientific pursuits to scientists in laboratories and making it inaccessible to the general public. Ward responded to Orwell’s “What is Science” in the Tribune in October 1945, but the Tribune printed only an abridged version of his letter. Orwell responded to him in print again in November, but had done so without the full text of Ward’s original letter. This January 9, 1946, letter is his private response to the letter in full. In near fine condition. Double matted and framed with a photograph of Orwell. The entire piece measures 19 inches by 16.25 inches.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 133445
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Rare George Orwell Autographed Letter Signed
ORWELL, GEORGE.
George Orwell Autographed Letter Signed.
: June 1944.
Rare autographed letter signed by George Orwell signed to Amy Charlesworth Byrne detailing his usual weekly routines between his home and the offices of Tribune, in order to make lunch arrangements to meet her and her husband, also promising her a book (“…I’ll try & find a copy of ‘Burmese Days for you. These Penguins are sold out as soon as published nowadays, but I believe I have a few copies somewhere… signed E. Blair”), one page, 10a Mortimer Crescent, London NW6, 23 June 1944. Amy Charlesworth, with whom Orwell had corresponded in 1937, had now married her second husband Gerry Byrne. In very good condition. (The Complete Works of George Orwell: Volume 16 (1998), p. 265).
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 142004
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Rare George Orwell Typed Letter Signed
ORWELL, GEORGE.
George Orwell Typed Letter Signed.
: October 1944.
Rare typed letter signed by George Orwell signed to Amy Charlesworth Byrne Typed letter signed (“Geo. Orwell“), to Mrs Amy Byrne excusing his delayed reply (“…I have been away again, and also somewhat distraught with the move into here…”), writing with relief that he has brought his young son down from Newcastle (“..It is no joke travelling with a child now…”), with other personal news and hoping that they will be able to visit the Byrnes at their home in Liverpool, 1 page, 4to, 27b Canonbury Square, Islington, London, 23 October 1944. “…I’d like to show you the baby (his name is Richard) and get your opinion of him. I’m no judge but I think he is a very nice child and quite forward for his age…” The Orwell’s had adopted Richard through the contacts of Eileen Orwell‘s sister, a doctor in Newcastle. Richard was Orwell‘s only child. Orwell wrote this letter soon after he had brought his son down from Newcastle to their new home in Islington, their previous house having been destroyed by a German bomb the previous June. Orwell was by now an established writer, especially through his work for Tribune. He had written Animal Farm but was having difficulty finding a publisher for an anti-Soviet satire at a time when the USSR was still Britain’s ally.
Amy Charlesworth was now married to her second husband, Gerry Byrne, and living in Liverpool. In very good condition.Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 142498
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Rare George Orwell Typed Letter Signed
ORWELL, GEORGE.
George Orwell Typed Letter Signed.
: June 1945.
Rare typed letter signed “Geo. Orwell“, to Gerry Byrne announcing that “my wife died three months ago, very suddenly and unexpectedly”, writing about the aftermath of her death including his relief that their son Richard was too young to to miss her (“…He is now 13 1/2 months old and is extremely well. He has twelve teeth and is almost able to walk…”), apologising that he cannot come to speak at a Labour Party campaign meeting (“…I am up to the eyes in the election myself, apart from other work. I don’t even know of anyone suitable…”), 1 page, 4to, 27b Canonbury Square, Islington, London, 28 June 1945, “…She was to have an operation which should not have been very serious in itself and was expected to cure the trouble she suffered from, but she appears to have died as soon as the operation began, as a result of the anaesthetic…” Although Orwell here relates the immediate cause of Eileen’s death under anaesthetic for a hysterectomy, “the trouble she suffered from” was advanced cancer. Orwell was in France when she died, on 29 March 1945, reporting on the final stages of the war in Europe, and he here explains to Byrne that he returned as soon as he could after the funeral, escaping his grief through work (“…I felt better when I was moving about…”) and leaving his son Richard “with an aunt in Greenwich”. He was back in England covering the Election, which was just a week away, and explains to Byrne that he had just taken on a housekeeper – Susan Watson – which would make it practical for his son to rejoin him in Islington. Orwell‘s correspondent here is Gerry Byrne, the husband of Amy Charlesworth, with whom he had corresponded since 1937. (The Complete Works of George Orwell: Volume 17 (1998) pp. 198-99).
Price: $19,500.00 Item Number: 142701
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"it is a corrupting thing to live one's real life in secret. One should live with the stream of life, not against it": First edition of Burmese Days; signed by George Orwell
ORWELL, GEORGE.
Burmese Days: A Novel by George Orwell.
New York: Harper & Brothers 1934.
First American edition, preceding the English edition by one year of Orwell’s first novel. Octavo, original publisher’s cloth. Signed by the author opposite the title page, “George Orwell.” In near fine condition. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box by the Harcourt Bindery. Rare and desirable signed.
Price: $35,000.00 Item Number: 143599
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First Edition of George Orwell's Burmese Days; Inscribed by the author
ORWELL, GEORGE.
Burmese Days.
New York: Harper & Brothers 1934.
First American edition, preceding the British edition by one year of Orwell’s first novel.
Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author with his given name on the verso of the front free endpaper, “With very best wishes from Eric Blair.”
As explained in the accompanying typed letter signed by Adrian Fierz, this copy was presented by the author to Mabel Fierz. It was Mabel Fierz who introduced Orwell to Leonard Moore (who would later become his literary agent) after salvaging the manuscript for Down and Out from the writer’s discarded papers. After first meeting Orwell in Southwold, Suffolk, Mabel and her husband Francis became close friends with the writer and often invited him to stay at their house in Golders Green. On one such occasion, Orwell gave Mabel the manuscript, which had just been rejected by Faber, telling her to save only the paperclips. Instead, she brought the manuscript to Moore, who in turn took it to the publisher, Gollancz. In gratitude, Orwell presented Mabel with signed copies of all of his published works.
Typed letter signed by Mabel’s son Adrian Fierz inserted. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box.
Price: $55,000.00 Item Number: 67096
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“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past": First American Edition of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four; Finely Bound by the Harcourt Bindery
ORWELL, GEORGE.
Nineteen Eighty-Four.
New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company 1949.
First American edition of Orwell’s classic dystopian novel. Octavo, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt inner dentelles stamp-signed by the Harcourt Bindery, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. In fine condition. An exceptional presentation.
Price: $2,250.00 Item Number: 141815
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“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past": First Edition of George Orwell's Classic Nineteen Eighty-Four
ORWELL, GEORGE.
Nineteen Eighty-Four.
London: Secker & Warburg 1949.
First edition of Orwell’s classic dystopian novel. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a few small chips and closed tears. Jacket design by Michael Kennard. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. A very nice example.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 143801
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"ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL, BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS" FIRST AMERICAN EDITION OF GEORGE ORWELL’S MASTERPIECE ANIMAL FARM
ORWELL, GEORGE.
Animal Farm.
New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company 1946.
First American edition of Orwell’s timeless allegorical novel—a scathing satire on a downtrodden society’s blind march towards totalitarianism. Octavo, original black cloth. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with rubbing and wear to the extremities. Jacket art by Art Brenner.
Price: $975.00 Item Number: 145465
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“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past": First Edition of George Orwell's Classic Nineteen Eighty-Four
ORWELL, GEORGE.
Nineteen Eighty-Four.
London: Secker & Warburg 1949.
First edition of Orwell’s classic dystopian novel. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with a few small chips and closed tears. Jacket design by Michael Kennard. Housed in a custom half morocco and chemise clamshell box. A nice example.
Price: $10,500.00 Item Number: 146200