A Farewell To Arms

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1929. First Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/very good. First printing, twelvemo size, 365 pp., in publisher's jacket. Set during the Italian campaign of WWI, Hemingway wrote this first-person account based on his own experience working in the ambulance corps. About a love affair between the expatriate American Henry and Catherine Barkley, set against the backdrop of the First World War with cynical soldiers, fighting and the displacement of populations. The book's publication cemented Hemingway's status as a modern American writer, becoming his first best-seller, and is described by biographer Michael Reynolds as "the (truncated) premier American war novel from that debacle World War I".

Ernest Miller Hemingway (1899-1961) won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954; among other work, he published seven novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction works; many of this works are considered classics of American Literature. Hemingway has become, in the minds of many, the "man's man" who loved to fight and considered mountaineering, bullfighting, and car racing the only "true" sports. When one reads his biography however, one becomes aware of a sensitive nature within the macho exterior; he formed deep friendships with many of the literati of the day, including Gertrude Stein (with whom, however, he later had a long-standing feud), James Joyce, Ezra Pound, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and J.D. Salinger. Hemingway's life had far too many twists and turns to recount here; a brilliant and complicated man, he has left a literary heritage of incredible depth; his biographer stated that "he left stories and novels so starkly moving that some have become part of our cultural heritage".

This the first edition, first printing in book form; the novel first appeared in serialized format in "Scribner's Magazine" from May to October of 1929, just prior to publication in book form in September 1929. All first issue points present, see details under "Citation" below.

___DESCRIPTION: Black cloth binding over boards, gold paper labels mounted on the front and spine with letters and ruled borders in black, top edge of text block appears to have originally been stained (now faded), fore-edge uncut; twelvemo size (7 1/2" by 5 1/2"), pagination: [i-x], [1]-355. The dust jacket is unclipped and shows the original $2.50 price, with the vignette by "Cleon" on the front in white, gold and orange, the title in white lettering, all on a sky blue background, author's name in orange lettering on a white background below, publisher's ads on the back panel for other books by Hemingway, summary of book on the front flap with the printed price, review blurbs for "The Torrents of Spring" on the back flap.

___CONDITION: Volume near fine, the binding clean, the gold paper labels clean and without rubbing, straight corners without rubbing, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; a very slight lean to the text block, and a few spots of foxing to the endpapers. The unclipped dust jacket very good, the spine sunned, with overall light soiling and overall edgewear, most noticeable at the head and tail of the spine (but without loss to text).

___CITATION: Hanneman A8a, first trade edition, first issue with publisher's seal on copyright page and no legal disclaimer on page [x]. First issue dust jacket with $2.50 price and the mis-spelling of "Katharine Barclay".

___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply, please contact seller for details.

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