The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, First Edition, 1952

Hemingway, Ernest, The Old Man and the Sea. 1952, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. First Edition. Rebound in blue Morocco leather with custom embossed stamp on the front, raised bands, gilt titles to the spine, and an archival matching blue cloth slipcase.

Presented is a first edition of The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. Bearing the publisher’s signature “A,” this is a stated first edition, of which, only 50,000 copies were included in the original print run. Published by Charles Scribner’s Sons in 1952, Ernest Hemingway’s famous novel is stunningly rebound in full Moroccan blue leather and decorated with a custom gilt snd navy embossed stamp of a marlin on the front. The book is housed in an archival, matching blue cloth slipcase.

The Old Man and the Sea, a classic short novel by Ernest Hemingway, was written in 1951 and published in 1952. 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. It was the last major work of fiction by Hemingway to be published during his lifetime.

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. The book was well received, with exceeding popularity that encouraged readers to re-examine 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 also 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’s. Charles Scribner was president of the publishing company Charles Scribner’s Sons and Max Perkins edited books by Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Thomas Wolfe. 

CONDITION:

Overall very good condition. The book is rebound in full Moroccan bright blue leather, with a striking gilt and navy embossed marlin on the front board, raised bands, gilt tiles, and gilt tooling to the spine, new marbled endpaper and gilt dentelle along the inside boards. The interior pages are healthy and without marks or tears, very clean with almost no toning. Scribner’s “A” on the copyright page. It is protected by an archival matching blue cloth slipcase, with gilt and navy marlin embossed on the front.

Book Dimensions: 8 1/2"H x 6"W x 1"D.

Slipcase Dimensions: 8 7/8"H x 6 3/16"W x 1 1/2"D. 

Accompanied by our company's letter of authenticity.