HEMINGWAY, Ernest (1899-1961). Three Stories and Ten Poems. Paris: Contact Publishing Co., 1923.

12mo. Original printed grayish-blue wrappers, uncut and unopened (some tiny spots to top textblock fore-edge); with the rare original glassine sleeve (corners chipped with few losses, some toning). Provenance: Ruth White Lowry (1884-1974), Hemingway's cousin and Kansas City native (recipient of Hemingway's inscription).

AN EXTREMELY FINE AND PARTIALLY UNOPENED FIRST EDITION OF HEMINGWAY'S FIRST BOOK, one of 300 copies printed.

PRESENTATION COPY, INSCRIBED BY HEMINGWAY TO HIS COUSIN on the front free endpaper: "To Ruth with much love—Ernest Hemingway." Hemingway and his second wife, Pauline, came to Kansas City in June 1928 for the birth of their first son, Patrick, at Research Hospital. They stayed at the home of Hemingway's cousin, Ruth, and her husband, William Malcom Lowry. Pauline underwent a life-threatening cesarean section during the birth. While she was recovering in the hospital, Hemingway began writing A Farewell to Arms.
The couple returned to Kansas City in 1931, when Pauline was pregnant with their second son, Gregory Hancock. They again stayed with the Lowrys before moving into the Riviera Apartments. During this November visit, Hemingway completed Death in the Afternoon. In a presentation copy of the book (sold at Freeman's | Hindman on 8 May 2025, sale 6330, lot 35), Hemingway inscribed a note to Ruth, writing that it was in her house that "the best parts of this book were written."

Three Stories & Ten Poems, Hemingway’s first published book, contains the stories “Up in Michigan,” “Out of Season,” and “My Old Man,” along with ten poems—six of which had appeared in Poetry in January 1923. The remaining four poems and all three stories made their debut in this volume, published by Robert McAlmon’s Contact Publishing Co. and printed in Dijon by Maurice Darantiere, the same printer Sylvia Beach used for Ulysses the year prior. Though the book sold poorly, it marked an early critical success for Hemingway: “My Old Man,” a tale of a boy’s disillusionment with his corrupt jockey father, was selected for The Best Short Stories of 1923, edited by Edward J. O’Brien. Hemingway, who had shown O'Brien the story “as a curiosity,” was surprised when O’Brien not only praised the piece but also asked to dedicate the anthology to him. Hemingway agreed, writing in return: “And to show you how much I appreciate it I will make a very solemn vow to you and God never to think about any readers but you and God when writing stories all the rest of my life” (Selected Letters, ed. Carlos Baker, p.103). Hanneman A1a.

Property from a Private St. Louis Collection

This lot is located in Chicago.

HEMINGWAY, Ernest (1899-1961). Three Stories and Ten Poems. Paris: Contact Publishing Co., 1923.

HEMINGWAY, Ernest (1899-1961). Three Stories and Ten Poems. Paris: Contact Publishing Co., 1923.