"The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway, published by Charles Scribner's Sons, First Printing of the First Edition. '1952' is imprinted on the title page, and 'Copyright 1952 by Ernest Hemingway' on the copyright page. Letter 'A' and Scribner's colophon marking together the first print are present. The pages are printed on laid paper [only the copies of the first printing were printed on such paper].

Facsimile [copy] of the first printing dust jacket in the myler cover, hard boards, original publisher's navy-blue cloth with embossed Hemingway's signature [some wear, especially the silvery lettering on spine, there is a round stain on front board: see photos]: 5.3/4" x 8"; former owner's label and gift inscription on the front endpaper, 140 pages are fine, overall very good condition.

First printing of Hemingway's classic man-versus-nature story was issued on September 8, 1952, 11 days after the full text of Hemingway's novella was published in a twenty page spread in "Life Magazine". Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and one of Hemingway's most beloved and successful story that has been characterized as a fable, it deals with a Cuban fisherman's struggles to land a giant marlin that he has hooked, and reflects Hemingway's concern for life as a struggle of man against nature, including his own nature; seen by many as a late-career return to form. The title which cinched the Nobel Prize for the author in 1954. Basis for the John Sturges film with Spencer Tracy.

"Gregorio Fuentes, the Captain of Hemingway's fishing boat, the Pilar. was Hemingway's dear friend and companion for over twenty years - in his recollections of his relationship with Hemingway and the creation of the story: " 'I was with Hemingway when he got the idea for The Old Man and the Sea,' he recalls. They were motoring along Cuba's north coast when they came across an old man in a skiff fighting a big fish. Sharks had surrounded him, and he was in a fierce battle. 'We stopped and offered to help, but the old man shouted for us to get away,' Fuentes says.

The author's so-called "Nobel" novel and the last major work published in his lifetime. Widely considered to have been the book that clinched the much-coveted literary award. This parable of a novel also won the Pulitzer Prize in 1952 and remains one of the high spots of modern American literature.

The laconic American voice and limpid prose style he developed and mastered were immensely influential to the Minimalist School, to cite just one example. The way he lived his life - the romance of being a writer - was for many readers and writers the model of a writer's life. One of the greatest American writers of the 20th century.

US: Priority (c.2-4 days) ----------- $28.50
Canada: Express (c.5-8 days) ------- $84.50
World: Express (c.5-14 days) ------- $104.50