HEMINGWAY, ERNEST

Three Stories & Ten Poems. [Paris: Contact Publishing, 1923]. First edition, one of 300 copies, with interesting provenance notes to the front blank including Hadley’s Richardson’s address, and author Michael Meyer’s note that the book had previously belonged to poets Sidney Keynes and Powys Mathers. Original blue-gray printed wrappers (without glassine), housed in morocco case. 7 x 4 1/2 inches (28 x 11.5 cm); [viii], 58 pp. The upper wrapper neatly split, extremities toned and the spine with a few small losses, two faint, very small ink markings to covers, clean internally, the rear endpaper excised, a sound copy in original condition.

Provenance: Sidney Keyes (1922-1943); Powys Mathers (1892-1939); Michael Meyer (1921-2000); Sale Christie's London, 13 November 2008, lot 196

Ernest Hemingway's first book, published when the author was just 24. The stories published here are "My Old Man," "Up in Michigan" and "Out of Season" before the 10 poems. Hemingway had intended In Our Time, advertised as available on the rear wrapper, to be his first book but it did not appear until early 1924. Hemingway had intended the book to be published by William Bird's Three Mountains Press but, after meeting Robert McAlmon in Rapallo, Hemingway agreed to Contact publishing the work. The book was printed by Maurice Darantière of Dijon, who in 1922 had printed the first edition of Joyce's Ulysses.

This copy bears interesting provenance notes on the front blank. The latest note reads "Michael Meyer, 1945/ex libris Sidney Keyes/ex libris Powys Mathers," Meyer being the translator of Ibsen and Strindberg who also edited The Collected Poems of Sidney Keyes. Sidney Keyes (1922-1943) was an English poet of great promise who was killed in action at 20 years old in Tunisia serving in World War II. Edward Powys Mathers (1892-1939) was a poet, translator, and composer of cryptic crosswords. These are fine literary associations but two addresses in two different hands are also intriguing and lead to Elizabeth Hadley Richardson, Hemingway's wife at the time of publication and the book's dedicatee.

The lower address reads "35 rue de Fleurus" known to be Hadley's address following her separation from Hemingway (who famously brought her possessions there in a wheelbarrow). Below this address is the name "Madame Hutchins," thought to be Gertrude Stein's friend Maude Hutchins (Stein lived at 27 Rue de Fleurus). The other address is "9 rue Falguière, Studio 33" refers to the artist studio where Whistler worked from 1898-1901. Hanneman A1A; Grissom A1.