Books

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1937. First Edition. Near Fine/Near Fine. First edition, first printing. Bound in publisher's original black cloth lettered in gilt with spine titles blocked in green. Near Fine with flaking to gilt stamping on front cover, light softening to spine ends and pages tanned. In a Near Fine unclipped dust jacket with light wear, light soiling to the spine panel and tanning to the white portions. A very lovely copy of a book difficult to track down in collectable condition.

To Have and Have Not is the dramatic story of Harry Morgan, an honest man who is forced into running contraband between Cuba and Key West as a means of keeping his crumbling family financially afloat. His adventures lead him into the world of the wealthy and dissipated yachtsmen who throng the region, and involve him in a strange and unlikely love affair. Hemingway's most intriguing and tantalizing themes make their appearance: man's battle against the cruelty of nature, the pressures of society on the individual, and the existential qualities of life in the modern world.

One method to determine a first edition of 'To Have and Have Not' is by identifying the 'A' present on the copyright page, indicating a first printing, and absence of mention of later printings.