Huxley, Aldous (1932) ‘Brave New World’, UK first edition with original dust jacket and signed letter

Aldous Huxley (1932) ‘Brave New World‘, UK first edition, first printing, published by Chatto & Windus. In the original first state and unrestored dust jacket. Accompanied by an original hanwritten and signed Aldous Huxley letter addressed to Jon Wynne-Tyson.

Condition of the book: a near fine beautiful book with bright and clean boards with minimal shelf wear. The lettering on the spine is not rubbed out and vibrant. Inside there is no foxing and no previous owners’ inscriptions, no stamps and no bookplates. The original dust jacket is NOT restored in any way with the usual edge wear including one medium-sized chip to the top spine affecting the title, and a small chip to the top rear fold as shown. The iconic front panel is complete and vibrant. It is not price-clipped displaying the 7s. 6d. net price as called for. Suitable for collectors who wish to acquire an honest specimen without any restorations.

The letter: original handwritten letter in 1962 to Jon Wynne-Tyson, English author and publicist who founded the Centaur Press. Written from Huxley’s dimocile in Berkeley, California. One sheet and two pages in Huxley’s hand, the iconic author declines Wynne-Tyson’s invitation to become an editor due to his lack of knowledge on the subject and a visual handicap. The letter closes with a beautiful full Huxley signature.

‘Brave New World’ needs no introduction. The landmark dystopian science-fiction novel paved the way for other tales in this tradition including George Orwell’s Nineteeen Eighty-Four (1949) or Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ (1986). Influenced by Zamyatin’s ‘We’ (1922), Huxley penned this tale of a future world of social engineering and conditioning.