Salman Rushdie – Midnight’s Children – Uncorrected UK Proof Copy signed by the author

London: Jonathan Cape, 1980. First Edition, First Printing. An almost near fine unread copy of the very rare and fragile uncorrected English proof, signed by Salman Rushdie on the title page. It is faded on the spine and there is some light discoloration of the edges. The English proof copy of Midnight’s Children is exceedingly scarce, much more so than the American one. Over the last thirty-five years we have now had five copies, including this one, and have established that in same time-span not more than around ten to fifteen (at the most) copies have been on offer. The book itself differs from the first English edition printed in the US in that it has an earlier copyright date (1980 and not 1981), was printed in England, has cut edges, is a different format (61/8 by 83/8 inches or 15.6 by 21.2 centimetres), has a different pagination 442 instead of 446 pages (this is because the recto and verso of the title pages of Book Two and Book Three – though present in the proof – were not paginated), does not have any page numbers for the individual chapters on the Contents page and the title page is printed in larger type. We have checked the first 40 pages for differences to the first published version and there are several. In short, this is a rare opportunity to buy a near fine copy of the earliest available state of the complete Midnight’s Children. Sold.