Across the River and Into the Trees
Hard Cover. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1950. First Edition. Very Good / Dust Jacket Included.
First American edition, first printing, in the second state dust jacket with orange lettering to spine. Publisher's black cloth, author's facsimile signature stamped in gilt to front board, titles in gilt to spine; in the original dust jacket designed by Adriana Ivancich, with an illustration of Venice to the front panel, photograph of Hemingway by Paul Radkai to rear panel. Near fine, with light dimming to gilt on spine, a few very light marks to spine, a couple of very small bumps to bottom edges of boards, and bottom right corner of front board lightly bumped; unclipped dust jacket, with some roughness to top edges of panels and flaps, mild wear to spine ends, and lightly nicked corners. Overall, a handsome copy. Hanneman A23. Originally published serially in Cosmopolitan from February - June 1950, Across the River and Into the Trees tells the story of American Colonel Richard Cantwell during the last day of his life as he recalls his experiences in war and love as a younger man in Venice. Hemingway took the title of this novel from the last words of General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, quoted on page 307: "Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees." Like much of his writing, this novel is highly autobiographical. Also, in typical Hemingway fashion, Across the River utilizes the Iceberg Theory, in which the true essence of the story is not expressly said in the plot but rather is meant to be inferred. Adriana Ivancich, who designed this edition's dust jacket, made Hemingway's acquaintance while the author was visiting Venice in 1949 and subsequently became his muse. This first American edition, published on September 7, 1950, was preceded by the British edition, which was released only 3 days prior on September 4th.
Item #EH274
Price: $175.00
