This is My Best: Over 150 Self-Chosen Masterpieces
Hard Cover. New York: The Dial Press, 1942. First Edition. Near Fine / Dust Jacket Included.
First edition, first printing. Signed and inscribed by Hemingway to his second wife's obstetrician, Don Guffey, on the first page of his contribution, "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" (p. 22): "Story about Africa (Tanganyika) characters real and imagined / Ernest Hemingway." Publisher's original cream-colored cloth, with criss-crossing pattern in green to spine, and green label to spine lettered and ruled in gilt; in its original tan dust jacket, with author names in white to spine and front panel, and titles lettered in maroon and black. Near fine, with light toning to spine, light rubbing to spine ends and corners, a touch of soiling to boards, and light offsetting to endpapers; near fine unclipped dust jacket, with a hint of fading to spine, some very light staining to lower portion of spine, a touch of staining to rear panel, light edgewear with a few small closed tears, and light wear to head of spine with a very shallow chip. Overall, a uniquely inscribed example of one of the scarce and highly sought-after Hemingway books formerly owned by Hemingway collector Don Guffey (Guffey sale, Lot 182). Housed in a custom tan clamshell box, with spine lettered in gilt. "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" is a short story by Ernest Hemingway about the cowardly Francis Macomber and his belittling wife, Margot, who are on a big-game safari led by professional guide, Robert Wilson. Under Wilson's guidance, the 35-year-old Francis undergoes a transformation from fearful to confident, but the transformation is short-lived as Margot "accidentally" shoots and kills Francis. The story was first published concurrently with "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" in the September 1936 issue of the Cosmopolitan, and subsequently in the short story collection The Fifth Column and the First Forty-Nine Stories (1938). This copy is inscribed to Don Guffey, Hemingway's friend and the obstetrician who delivered his and his second wife Pauline Pfeiffer's two sons. Guffey was one of the first serious Hemingway book collectors, and he managed to get Hemingway to inscribe many of his works to him with unique and insightful inscriptions. In 1958, the Guffey Collection was sold at auction, marking the earliest large-scale auction of Hemingway books.
Item #EH282
Price: $12,500.00
