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Edition

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One of Time magazine’s 100 best English-language novels and the most famous of all twentieth-century political allegories, Animal Farm: A Fairy Story by George Orwell is a wise, compassionate and illuminating fable that remains the ultimate satire on the dark side of modern history.

The animals at Manor Farm have had enough of Farmer Jones. He’s drunk, reckless and cares little for their welfare. When the boar, Old Major, shares his revolutionary plans, the animals are convinced they can thrive on their own once the despot Jones is overthrown. The barnyard animals revolt against their vicious human master only to submit to a tyranny created by their own kind. For as the pigs vie for power, they begin to bear an uncanny resemblance to the tyrants they have overthrown.

A seminal anti-totalitarianism satire once considered so controversial it was rejected by several publishers, Animal Farm became an instant success upon its first publication in 1945, following the Second World War. The novel has continued to captivate readers of all ages, and has secured Orwell’s position as one of the greatest writers of all-time.



Orwell’s original title for his novel was Animal Farm: A Fairy Story, and it was first published as such by Secker and Warburg in London, England on August 17, 1945. U.S. publishers subsequently dropped Orwell’s subtitle when publishing the novel in 1946, and only one of the translations during Orwell’s lifetime kept it.

In a 1946 letter from George Orwell to Dwight Macdonald, the author discusses his intent in writing Animal Farm. Orwell writes, “What I was trying to say was: You can’t have a revolution unless you make it for yourself; there is no such thing as benevolent dictatorship.”

A timeless, affecting story of revolutions, idealism, power and corruption, Animal Farm: A Fairy Story is Orwell’s most renowned work.

ABOUT THE EDITIONS
The signed limited edition of Animal Farm by George Orwell is presented in three states: Artist, Numbered and Lettered. The editions measure 6” x 9” and feature six full color oil painting illustrations by Omar Rayyan as well as a new exclusive introduction by Richard Blair, adopted son of George Orwell. The Numbered and Lettered editions are signed by Richard Blair and Omar Rayyan, and the Artist edition is signed by Omar Rayyan. All three editions are printed letterpress on a Heidelberg Cylinder Press by Norman Clayton in Ojai, California.

BONUS APPENDICES
All editions feature over 50 pages of bonus content, which includes Orwell’s proposed preface to Animal Farm, Orwell’s preface to the Ukrainian edition of Animal Farm and a photograph of Orwell feeding his pet goat Muriel.



A NOTE ON THE TYPOGRAPHY
What makes Animal Farm so brilliant is that it is a highly political story dressed up as a quaint fairy tale. The illustrations in our edition, too, are beautiful-but-deceptively-wicked. To keep up the facade, we’ve set the text in Austin. Designed by Paul Barnes for British style magazine Harper’s & Queen between 2007 and 2014, the face is a loose revival of the late-18th century typefaces of Richard Austin. Their sharp edges and sweet curves are a study in contrasts and can’t help but make a reader feel safe even when they’re reading about conniving anthropomorphized farm animals.

Our display face is Will Carter’s Klang. Although calligraphic in nature, it was not drawn or written, but cut into card stock, giving it a thick and chunky look. It is perhaps the sort of letter that a pig might write—if that pig could hold a pen and was a celebrated printer, typographer, calligrapher, and carver of wood and slate like Carter was. Designed in 1955—ten years after the publication of Animal Farm—like the Austin types used for the text, Klang is quintessentially British and a fun (and dark) compliment to Orwell’s tragically timeless tale.



ARTIST EDITION
The Artist edition is limited to 1000 copies, and is the only edition to feature a wraparound dust jacket illustrated by Omar Rayyan. It is a smyth sewn, quarter cloth binding with Zanders Elephant Hide paper sides and hot foil stamping on the cover and spine. Endsheets are Hahnemühle Bugra, and the edition is printed letterpress on premium Mohawk Via Vellum paper. It is housed in an embossed wood grain paper covered slipcase and is signed by the artist.

NUMBERED EDITION
The Numbered edition of 350 copies is a quarter vellum flatback binding with custom designed patterned paper sides by Laura Serra, which are printed letterpress on Hahnemühle Bugra. The spine is foil stamped in gold, and the edition is housed in a velour lined slipcase wrapped in Hahnemühle Bugra, which is printed letterpress and features European cloth ends. The edition is printed letterpress on premium Mohawk Via Vellum paper and is signed by Richard Blair and Omar Rayyan.

 

Product info: PREORDER (ETA: Winter 2022/2023), published by Suntup Editions