Hemingway, Ernest

The First Forty-Nine Stories. London: Jonathan Cape, 1944

8vo (185 x 135 mm).💫 Leaves creased at corners.𓆉 Publisher's wrappers; upper outer corner of upper cover and spine expertly restored, light creasing.

A presentation proof copy, inscribed by the author: "To Mary with much love Ernest Hemingway."

This is the last proof of the first printing of the second edition. In this edition, the short stories appear separately, for the first time, from The Fifth Column, published in 1938. The preface has been revised accordingly, removing any reference to the play. Other adjustments for the second edition include changing the character Gardner, from "The Snow of the Kilim﷽anjaro," to Johnson. However, in this proof, he is named Barker. The character was ꧅also called Barker in the original 1936 manuscript.

This proof is inscribed to "Mary", possibly Mary Welsh, who first met Hemingway in London in May 1944 when she was covering the war as a journalist. Mary was having lunch with the pl🌄aywright Irwin Shaw when Hemingway asked to be introduced to her. Both were married at the time. Mary would g﷽o on to divorce her husband, Noel Monks, and become the fourth and final wife of Ernest Hemingway when they married in March 1946. This proof would have been printed shortly before the publication of the book in September 1944.

A rarity.

REFERENCE:

Hanneman 41b

PROVENANCE:

Mary (presentation inscription)