The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, First Edition, First Issue, in Original Dust Jacket, 1952

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, [1952]. First Edition, First Issue. Octavo. In the original publisher’s dust jacket and light blue cloth hardcover boards. With a new archival ¼ leather and cloth clamshell. 

Presented is a first edition, first issue of Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. Published by Charles Scribner’s Sons in 1952, Ernest Hemingway’s famous novel is presented in its original illustrated dust jacket and light blue cloth hardcover boards, blind stamped with Heminway’s facsimile signature, and spine lettered in silver. This book bears the publisher’s signature “A” indicating that this is a stated first edition, of which only 50,000 copies were included in the original print run. The book is housed in a new matching custom archival ¼ leather and cloth slipcase.

The Old Man and the Sea, a classic short novel by Ernest Hemingway, was written in 1951 and published in 1952. It was the last major work of fiction by Hemingway to be published during his lifetime. The novel was first printed in its entirety in Life Magazine in 1952 and sparked a buying frenzy among readers. Over 5 million copies of the story printed in the magazine were sold in a matter of only 2 days.

One of his most famous works, The Old Man and the Sea tells the story of a Cuban fisherman named Santiago who struggles with a giant marlin out in the Gulf Stream off the coast of Florida. The novel, consisting of only 140 pages, highlights man’s struggle with nature, as well as a portrait of “manliness” and human character.

Upon the release of the novel, critics deemed the tale a reflection of Hemingway’s personal determination to prove that his writing career was not yet over. In its first release, the book was well received with exceeding popularity and encouraged readers to reexamine his entire body of work. In the year following its release, The Old Man and the Sea received a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The publication of the book contributed to Hemingway’s Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.

The book was dedicated to “Charles Scribner and to Max Perkins” who were close friends of Hemingway. Charles Scribner was president of the publishing company Charles Scribner’s Sons and Max Perkins edited books by Hemingway, as well as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Thomas Wolfe. Both passed away before the book was released.

CONDITION:

Overall very good condition. In the original publisher’s dust jacket. Jacket spine is lightly toned, edges of jacket slightly worn, with small marginal chips and splits repaired. Original publisher’s light blue cloth hardcover boards. Front board blind stamped with Hemingway’s facsimile signature. Spine lettered in silver. Boards in good condition. Interior pages are healthy. Slighting toning to pages, as expected with age. Publisher’s catalog sheet included. 

The book is presented with a new, archival 1/4 leather and cloth clamshell, with gilt embossed decorations featuring a marlin on the front, raised bands, and gilt titles and tooling on the spine.

Book Dimensions: 8 1/4" H x 5 3/4" W x 3/4" D. Slipcase Dimensions: 9 1/2" H x 7" W x 1 3/4" D.

Accompanied by our company's letter of authenticity.