A Hemingway first edition, minus the big dealer markup.

A rare book dealer has a first edition of Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea on offer for $3750: "A pristine copy of this American classic. Book Fine with the spine gilt bright and complete, binding sharp and unread. In a Fine, dust jacket that's as fresh as any we've seen. A truly superior example of a book that is becoming scarce in this condition."

The book, the last major Hemingway work published in his lifetime, was published in an issue of Life Magazine. It sold five million copies in two days.

The story of an aging Cuban fisherman cursed by 84 days without a bite on his line, the novella revived Hemingway’s flagging reputation. It won the 1952 Pulitzer Prize, and was cited in Hemingway’s 1954 Nobel Prize award.

The first edition was of 50,000 copies, and Henry Bemis Books has one:

Hemingway, Ernest, The Old Man and the Sea (Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1952, 1st. ed, 1st printing). Ex-library copy. Hardcover, octavo, 140 pp. Some foxing on the end papers; library stamps on front end papers. With unclipped dust jacket in mylar covering. No library tags on the spine. Blue-tinted author photo on back cover. Overall, very good condition. HBB price: $275.

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