The Old Man and the Sea
By Ernest Hemingway
 
First edition, first impression: London: Jonathan Cape, 1952.
 
Octavo. Original blue cloth, spine lettered in dark red, upper board stamped in red with the fisherman-and-fish motif. With the original dust jacket designed by Hans Tisdall, priced 7s. 6d. net to the front flap.
 
The binding is square and firm, the cloth clean and evenly coloured, with a small knock to the bottom corner of upper board. Internally, the contents are very clean and sound, save for a few spots to paste-downs and first and last couple of leaves, else a near fine copy.
 
The correct first issue dust jacket (without reviews to verso) is complete, with the usual light sunning to the spine panel, gentle edge wear at the spine ends, a touch of rubbing to the corners, a small nick to the lower fore-edge of the upper panel, and a faint crease to the top corner of the upper flap. The colours remain bright and unfaded, and the price is intact.
 
A near fine copy of Hemingway’s final major work of fiction to be published during his lifetime, The Old Man and the Sea marked a decisive return to critical acclaim, winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and forming a central citation for his Nobel Prize the following year. Examples of the first UK edition in truly collectable condition are increasingly difficult to find.