George Orwell - 1984 & Animal Farm

Good day! I just found this group recently and thought it would be nice to say hi and introduce myself :) I have been admiring Franklin library books for a while, and own a few titles. I’m not sure I could call myself a collector, since owning whole sets sounds like such a humongous financial goal, but I am absolutely in love. The few titles that I own (all from the Collected Stories of the World’s Greatest Writers collection) are so wonderful! Reading them is a whole experience on its own, the weight, the smell, the look, the stories. Ahhh :) Well I’m sure I’m not saying anything that the collectors in this forum already knows.

Recently I gave my friend my copy of Animal Farm and 1984 because he borrow it and really liked the stories. I’m a little sentimental about Orwell so of course I started entertaining the possibilities of owning the Franklin Library edition. Lo and behold, there are no copies on sale on biblio or abebooks, and only three on ebay, all going at roughly 200 euros apiece. I started wondering about it and decided to ask for opinions here. I’m far from complaining about the price, if I could afford it, I think Franklin library can be worth that price (please correct me if I’m being quite ignorant here). That said, it’s still way beyond my budget. Is this title particularly rare/sought out, and am I wrong to entertain hope that I will find a cheaper copy? And could I possibly have some review of it from anyone who has a copy? Thank you!

Welcome! I have the complete series of Greatest Writers but only because I purchased them in bulk. The Orwell is perhaps the most expensive of the 100 to acquire individually. But the trading range is generally $65 to $100. I wouldn’t pay more than that. Unless there is some urgency, my best advice would be to create an eBay search so you are notified when new copies are listed and wait patiently. It does come up for sale not infrequently so there is no need to overpay for the first copy that becomes available.

I think both of those books are currently experiencing a temporary price bubble due to the current political climate in the US. Franklin Library, Easton Press, Folio Society, etc. - all of their versions of these two titles cost more than normal right now. Eventually, the prices will go back down.

>2 UK_History_Fan: Thank you! I didn't realise Orwell is one of the more expensive ones, but it's good to know. I've often seen other titles at very low price (the shipping from the US is often the problem for me though), so I was mildly surprised at that. I've set up a search like you suggested and hopefully will find one some day :D

>3 treereader: I had an inkling that that might be the reason, well it's good to have confirmation. I'm certainly not in a hurry so I'll be happy to wait it out :)