Rare early editions of book by communist party chairman, who shunned the idea of wealth, set to fetch £1m at auctionThe thoughts of Mao Zedong, published in 1964 under the title Quotations, are considered the blueprint for Chinese communism and a guidebook to the Cultural Revolution. The collected soundbites from his speeches and writings have become known the world over as the Little Red Book.But the red-covered Quotations of the former Chinese Communist Party chairman, who died in 1976, aged 82, went through many ideological iterations before the official version was settled on. The original cover was also a different colour – in fact, had some of those earlier thought experiments been declared the final draft, we could now be talking about Chairman Mao’s Little Blue Book. Continue reading...
Early editions of Mao Zedong's "Quotations," later known as the "Little Red Book," had different colored covers (including blue) and less propaganda compared to later, more widely distributed versions. A collection of around 200 early and international editions, showcasing the book's evolution, is being offered for sale at £1 million. The initial versions focused on military guidance, while later editions, especially after the Cultural Revolution, became more propagandistic and ideologically focused.
