This stunning new edition of ‘1984’ reminds us that we’re still living in Orwell’s dystopia

Perpetual war. Authoritarian leaders. Mass surveillance. Alternative facts.



Back in 1949, when George Orwell published “1984,” this was the dystopian future he imagined. Now, it seems like Orwell wasn’t just a creative novelist. He was prophetic. The world we currently live in features all of these dark realities.



The British publisher Folio Society has just released a new limited edition of “1984” that is perfectly suited to this moment. The company partnered with the design studio La Boca to create illustrations, as well as develop the fonts and layout of the book. The imagery references vintage propaganda and film posters, while also having a distinctly modern feel. It allows the reader to think about how the dystopian issues Orwell paints in the book are recurring themes in history. There are 750 numbered copies of the book for sale, starting today, on Folio’s website.



[Image: courtesy Folio Society]



A renaissance for beautiful books



Folio Society was founded in 1947, when Orwell was in the midst of writing the manuscript for “1984.” It was a dark time in Europe. The World War II had just ended and people were still traumatized by the things they had seen during the fighting. But Charles Ede, the Society’s founder, believed that great literature could be a balm. He wanted to create gorgeously illustrated editions of people’s favorite books that people would return to again and again.



The company is still committed to this mission. Joanna Reynolds, CEO, focuses on getting insights from customers, both through focus groups as well as through social media, about what they would most like to see in print—“1984” was an obvious choice. Not only is it a classic, but its themes speak to many of the issues in the headlines today, from AI to the rise of dictators to the endless wars in many parts of the world.



[Illustration: © La Boca 2024/courtesy Folio Society]



Scot Bendall, founder of La Boca, had worked on two collections of Philip K Dick short stories for Folio in the past. But in many ways, “1984” was his dream project. “Folio had asked me if there were any authors I’d like to work with,” he says. “I flippantly said George Orwell, not realizing there would ever be an opportunity to actually work on one of his books.”



“1984” has personal meaning to Bendall. He used to walk past Orwell’s house on Portobello Road in London on the way to his studio every day. And there’s something about how time works in “1984 ”that intrigued him. The book was published in 1949, but set at a future date of 1984. And as time goes on, it forces us to look back.



Today, the themes in the book seem more familiar than ever. “The surveillance culture we live in now is scarily similar to the book,” Bendell says. “We are being watched constantly, online and in real life. In London, it’s estimated that there are around a million CCTV cameras in use, and that a citizen is captured on camera around 70 times a day.”



[Illustration: © La Boca 2024/courtesy Folio Society]



Illustration as a tool



With the book’s seven illustrations, Bendall wanted to play with this idea of the past merging with the present and future. In keeping with La Boca’s approach, Bendell primarily worked digitally, constructing images in Photoshop. He was inspired by propaganda posters from World War II that Orwell would have seen as he was working on the book. And in some ways, Bendell was putting himself in the role of the governmental force, or Big Brother, in the book.



There’s an ominous image of a soldier wearing a round steel pot helmet and running forward with a gun. The image is saturated in red, including the soldier’s eyes. The original image was meant to make young men feel proud of going off to fight. But cast in this new light, the image feels sinister.



[Illustration: © La Boca 2024/courtesy Folio Society]



In another image, there’s an image of the world, arrows going around it like in the modern “recycling” symbol featuring the word “hate.” “It’s about how factions are constantly at war with each other,” he says. “They’re recycling hate. And after a while, it doesn’t even matter who is fighting against whom.”



[Illustration: © La Boca 2024/courtesy Folio Society]



In addition to these illustrations, La Boca also created a sheet of stickers that are hidden away inside the cover of the book, that are also meant to mimic propaganda. They are brightly colored stickers that look fun, but carry menacing messages, like “ignorance is strength” and “slavery is freedom.” There are also two folded posters inside the front cover. They feature the phrases, “Big brother is watching you” and “war is peace” respectively.



For Bendell, the point of these extras is to drive home the importance of language in shaping our reality. He wants readers to think about how this continues to be true today. “These phrases turn the truth upside down and plunge you into confusion,” he says. “People often underestimate the power of words, especially on Twitter and Instagram. But words can have a powerful meaning, both for good and evil.”