First & Limited Edition of Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms Alongside First American Edition of The Hobbit by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien to Sell at Potter & Potter Auctions

Ernest Hemingway (1899 – 1961) became friends with Owen Wister Jr. in the late 1920s, and the two corresponded profusely after. Wister was an American writer considered the “father” of Western fiction for authoring the bestselling 1902 novel The Virginian. Hemingway held Wister in high regard, describing Wister’s stories as “wonderfully good” and a “lesson to our generation in how to write,” to his editor Maxwell Perkins. A rare copy of Hemingway’s 1929 novel A Farewell to Arms from the library of Owen Wister Jr. is leading the upcoming Firsts: The Library of Robin and Kathryn Smiley Auction, presented by Potter & Potter Auctions. Before the book was published, Hemingway sought professional advice from Wister, who told him to put everything in a book instead of magazines. He also told Hemingway, “Don’t touch a thing!” regarding the ending, which Hemingway had difficulty finishing. The dust jacket of the book was designed by Cleo Theodora Damianakes, a notable Greek-American artist. The book available in the sale is a first edition, limited-issue, one of only ten copies signed by Hemingway.

A first American edition copy of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien The Hobbit is also available in this sale. The book was published in 1938 by publishing titan Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston and New York. Paul Brooks, editor-in-chief of Houghton Mifflin, enjoyed Bilbo Baggins and his crew, despite negative criticism by the editor in charge of children’s books. Unlike the 1937 first British edition by Allen & Unwin, which did not have illustrations, Houghton Mifflin wanted to include color illustrations by American artists in addition to Tolkien’s line drawings. Tolkien agreed with the publishers to veto anything from or influenced by Walt Disney Studios. The rare dust jackets on the available books are now considered more desirable than the first British edition jacket, as fewer have survived and are rare in the market. View the complete catalog of Firsts: The Library of Robin and Kathryn Smiley and register to bid by visiting Potter & Potter Auctions.