This first edition Hemingway sold at auction for $12,000 in October, 2021
Ernest Hemingway’s debut novel, published by Charles Scribner’s Sons, had a print run of just 5,090 copies, making this first edition desirable to collectors as copies in good condition are very scarce.
This 1926 copy is a first printing with an unrestored first state dust jacket. The dust jacket, with its distinctive graphic design, accounts for much of the book’s value. The dust jacket was printed on fairly thin paper which has become fragile in the decades since publication, and many of the examples found on the market today show some degree of damage or loss.
First state dust jackets, like this example, can be identified by some minor flaws. The most conspicuous error being the title of Hemingway’s previous novel, “In Our Time”, erroneously printed as “In Our Times”. The book itself, in its first state, was also printed with several typos.
“The Sun Also Rises” was banned in Boston in 1930 and in Ireland in 1953 due to its language and focus on sex and promiscuity.