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First Edition Ernest Hemingway Books

The following is from Rick Allen, a writer for a rare books web site:

"Scribner's employed various methods of defining first editions. Early in 1929 the dates on the title and copyright pages had to be identical with no indication of later printings on the copyright page. Later that year the letter 'A' was placed on the copyright page to indicate a first printing. It was later removed or replaced with subsequent letters of the alphabet, usually in the form:

A-3.64 [H]
where
A..........The edition (A=1st, B=2nd, etc.)
3.64..........The date it was published (e.g. March, 1964)
[H]..........[H]ardcover or [P]aperback

This system was discontinued in 1973 and replaced by a series of descending numbers, the smallest being the edition:

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

The above example would indicate the 2nd edition."

Specific Identification Points for Major Works

  • The Sun Also Rises (1926)
  • A Farewell to Arms (1929)
  • For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940)
  • Across the River and Into the Trees (1950)
  • The Old Man and the Sea (1952)

First Edition Covers

First edition covers for Ernest Hemingway's books can be found on the Ernest Hemingway Books page.

Ernest Hemingway Photos

Ernest Hemingway in photos:
Early years to later years
Ernest Hemingway Trivia

For the true aficionado:
How well do you Hemingway?
Ernest Hemingway First Editions

Judge a book by its cover:
Identifying first editions
The Ernest Hemingway Primer

The Ernest Hemingway Primer:
A guide to the life and works