--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was very unlikely that there existed…" description: "\"“It was very unlikely that there existed anywhere in Oceania a copy of a book printed earlier than 1960. The”\" — George Orwell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1db/george-orwell-57_books_it-was-very-unlikely-that-there-existed_1500341.jpg" --- # It was very unlikely that there existed anywhere in… ![“It was very unlikely that there existed anywhere in Oceania a copy of a book printed earlier than 1960. The” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1db/george-orwell-57_books_it-was-very-unlikely-that-there-existed_1500341.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1db/george-orwell-57_books_it-was-very-unlikely-that-there-existed_1500341.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1db/george-orwell-57_books_it-was-very-unlikely-that-there-existed_1500341.jpg) > ““It was very unlikely that there existed anywhere in Oceania a copy of a book printed earlier than 1960. The”” [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A speculative claim about the rarity of pre‑1960 printed books in Oceania, hinting at historical scarcity. **In simple terms:** There were likely few books printed before 1960 in Oceania. Key Takeaway Consider historical publishing limitations. Themes history literature scarcity Mood analytical curious Type historical inquisitive When to use this quote - academic research - library collections Key Concepts colonial publishing regional history Questions to Reflect On - What factors contributed to this scarcity? - How does this affect cultural memory? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Oceania](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oceania/) ## Related quotes > [In Oceania at the present day, Science, in the old sense, has almost ceased to exist. In Newspeak there is no word for 'Science.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-oceania-at-the-present-day-science-in-the-old-sense-has-almost/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The past was alterable. The past never had been altered. Oceania was at war with Eastasia. Oceania had always been at war with Eastasia.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-past-was-alterable-the-past-never-had-been-altered-oceania-was-at/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [The citizen of Oceania is not allowed to know anything of the tenets of the other two philosophies, but he is taught to execrate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-citizen-of-oceania-is-not-allowed-to-know-anything-of-the-tenets/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Actually, as Winston well knew, it was only four years since Oceania had been at war with Eastasia and in alliance with Eurasia. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/actually-as-winston-well-knew-it-was-only-four-years-since-oceania/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The average citizen of Oceania never sets eyes on a citizen of either Eurasia or Eastasia, and he is forbidden the knowledge of foreign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-average-citizen-of-oceania-never-sets-eyes-on-a-citizen-of-either/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Officially the change of partners had never happened. Oceania was at war with Eurasia: therefore Oceania had always been at war with Eurasia. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/officially-the-change-of-partners-had-never-happened-oceania-was-at/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Oceania was at war with Eurasia; therefore Oceania had always been at war with Eurasia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/oceania-was-at-war-with-eurasia-therefore-oceania-had-always-been-at/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [The very word 'war', therefore, has become misleading. It would probably be accurate to say that by becoming continuous war has ceased to exist.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-very-word-war-therefore-has-become-misleading-it-would-probably/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [In some ways she was far more acute than Winston, and far less susceptible to Party propaganda. Once when he happened in some connection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-some-ways-she-was-far-more-acute-than-winston-and-far-less/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Modernism in a way, early modernism, for instance, in pictures, was turning against perspective and Europe. And all early modernism is actually from out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/modernism-in-a-way-early-modernism-for-instance-in-pictures-was/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [Oceania is vast, Oceania is expanding, Oceania is hospitable and generous, Oceania is humanity rising from the depths of brine and regions of fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epeli-hau-ofa/oceania-is-vast-oceania-is-expanding-oceania-is-hospitable-and/) Epeli Hau'ofa > [All cultures forged by nations—the noble indigenous past of America, the brilliant civilization of Europe, the wise history of Asian nations, and the ancestral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subcomandante-marcos/all-cultures-forged-by-nations-the-noble-indigenous-past-of-america/) [Subcomandante Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subcomandante-marcos/) > [Every time that a man has, with a pure heart, called upon Osiris, Dionysus, Buddha, the Tao, etc., the Son of God has answered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/every-time-that-a-man-has-with-a-pure-heart-called-upon-osiris/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [“Up to a few years ago nearly all the literature about Oceania was written by papalagi and other outsiders. Our islands were and still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-wendt/up-to-a-few-years-ago-nearly-all-the-literature-about-oceania-was/) Albert Wendt > [I used to wonder: Is Huxley right or is Orwell right? It turns out they're both right. First you get the new world state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/i-used-to-wonder-is-huxley-right-or-is-orwell-right-it-turns-out-they/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) ## More by George Orwell > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-was-given-out-that-the-animals-there-practised-cannibalism/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The actual writing would be easy. All he had to do was to transfer to paper the interminable restless monologue that had been running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-actual-writing-would-be-easy-all-he-had-to-do-was-to-transfer-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [He felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom, lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/he-felt-as-though-he-were-wandering-in-the-forests-of-the-sea-bottom/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“if you took 1 Corinthians, chapter thirteen, and in every verse wrote 'money' instead of 'charity', the chapter had ten times as much meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-took-1-corinthians-chapter-thirteen-and-in-every-verse-wrote/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Happiness can exist only in acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/happiness-can-exist-only-in-acceptance/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-if-all-others-accepted-the-lie-which-the-party-imposed-if-all/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Whitman himself "accepted" a great deal that his contemporaries found unmentionable. For he is not only writing of the prairie, he also wanders through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/whitman-himself-accepted-a-great-deal-that-his-contemporaries-found/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“But I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Whatever the Party holds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/but-i-tell-you-winston-that-reality-is-not-external-reality-exists-in/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“And the people under the sky were also very much the same...everywhere, all over the world, hundreds or thousands of millions of people just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-people-under-the-sky-were-also-very-much-the-same-everywhere/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/don-t-you-see-that-the-whole-aim-of-newspeak-is-to-narrow-the-range/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Windmill or no windmill, he said, life would go on as it had always gone on--that is, badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/windmill-or-no-windmill-he-said-life-would-go-on-as-it-had-always/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/man-is-the-only-creature-that-consumes-without-producing-he-does-not/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And the bigger the fall, the bigger the joke. It would be better fun to throw a custard pie at a bishop than at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-bigger-the-fall-the-bigger-the-joke-it-would-be-better-fun-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Any writer or journalist who wants to retain his integrity finds himself thwarted by the general drift of society rather than by active persecution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/any-writer-or-journalist-who-wants-to-retain-his-integrity-finds/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) [Explore all 1,657 George Orwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. 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There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. 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