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The Old Man and the Sea
by Hemingway, Ernest
- Used
- Fine
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Fine/Fine
- Seller
-
Rapid River, Michigan, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1952. First edition, second printing. 1952 at title page; Scribner colophon at copyright. Sea blue full cloth boards, Hemingway's signature blind-stamped at front board, silver spine titles, light shelf wear. Fine linen pages, crisp, clean, no writing; light toning. Bind fine, square; hinges intact. Facsimile jacket of original first edition; protected in new clear sleeve. Deep, full color jacket painting. Beautiful design with rich blue sea and fisherman's village at shoreline. Jacket design by "A". Hemingway photo at back panel appears tinted slightly blue. Rare near fine 1952 trade printing in fine facsimile. Very attractive. The story of an old Cuban fisherman and his supreme ordeal: a relentless, agonizing battle with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream. Using simple, powerful language of a fable, Hemingway takes the timeless themes of courage in the face of defeat and personal triumph won from loss, and transforms them into a magnificent classic. 5 3/4" x 8 1/4" design. Printed in the United States of America. 140 pages. Insured post.. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Book.
Synopsis
This novella, only 140 pages, was first printed in its entirety in Life Magazine on September 1, 1952. It inspired a buying frenzy - selling over five million copies of the magazine in just two days! The story about an aging Cuban fisherman wrangling a large marlin in the gulf stream was written in 1951 in Cuba and published in 1952. In 1953, it won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and led to Hemingway's nomination for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. Man's struggle against nature is the resounding theme throughout the book as Hemingway portrays Santiago's travails as an experienced fisherman facing a dry-spell of 85 days before finally wrangling a prized marlin. Hemingway also highlights the indomitable spirit of man while illustrating his ideal of manliness and character in the strong and determined fisherman facing danger and discomfort without complaint and with resolution, both in the days it takes Santiago to kill the marlin, and as he fights off the sharks that end up destroying his prized catch before he reaches the coast. Some say that Hemingway's tale is a reflection of his own determination to prove his writing career was not over, and the portrayal of the sharks may echo the critics who had been claiming for the ten years that his writing career, after the successful release of For Whom the Bell Tolls in 1940, was over. The book is dedicated "To Charlie Scribner And To Max Perkins," friends of Hemingway's that had passed away before the book came out. Max Perkins, who also edited F. Scott Fitzgerald and Thomas Wolfe, died in 1947 and Scribner, who was president of the publisher Charles Scribner's Sons, died in 1952.
Read More: Identifying first editions of The Old Man and the Sea
Reviews
On Mar 6 2014, a reader said:
The Old Man and The Sea is an excellent novella for someone to read looking to get away from the troubles of life only to find that some troubles lead to the greatest reward of even though the reward is only a small amount.
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Details
- Bookseller
- BiblioStax
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 021837
- Title
- The Old Man and the Sea
- Author
- Hemingway, Ernest
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Fine
- Edition
- First Edition
- Publisher
- Charles Scribner's Sons
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1952
- Size
- 8vo - over 7¾" - 9&f
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
Terms of Sale
BiblioStax
Satisfaction is guaranteed. Refund will be negotiated and granted for sufficient reason.
About the Seller
BiblioStax
Biblio member since 2005
Rapid River, Michigan
About BiblioStax
We specialize in modern rarities and other hard to find materials. Items are accurately and fully described. Open communication and satisfaction is our goal.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Shelf Wear
- Shelf wear (shelfwear) describes damage caused over time to a book by placing and removing a book from a shelf. This damage is...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Facsimile
- An exact copy of an original work. In books, it refers to a copy or reproduction, as accurate as possible, of an original...
- Crisp
- A term often used to indicate a book's new-like condition. Indicates that the hinges are not loosened. A book described as crisp...
- Colophon
- The colophon contains information about a book's publisher, the typesetting, printer, and possibly even includes a printer's...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
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