HEMINGWAY, Ernest (1899-1961). In Our Time. New York: Boni and Liveright, 1925.

8vo. Original black cloth gilt (light rubbing to extremities, sunning to spine). Provenance: Ruth White Lowry (1884-1974), Hemingway's cousin and Kansas City native (her ownership signature; recipient of Hemingway's inscription).

FIRST AMERICAN EDITION. INSCRIBED BY HEMINGWAY TO HIS COUSIN, RUTH LOWRY: "From her official (KC Star) cousin, Ernest Hemingway."

At just 18 years old, Hemingway worked briefly as a cub reporter for The Kansas City Star from 1917 to 1918, covering crime, medical emergencies, and obituaries. During this time, he began to develop the concise, impactful writing style that would become his literary hallmark. He later credited the Star’s style sheet—a set of 110 rules emphasizing brevity and clarity—as “the best rules I ever learned for the business of writing.” In Our Time features two Kansas City-based vignettes, and the story "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen" is set in a Kansas City hospital.

This edition of In Our Time was preceded only by a limited edition of 170 copies published by William Bird at the Three Mountain Press in Paris in 1924. The 16 short stories featured in the First American edition are interspersed with 16 inter-chapters or vignettes from the 1924 limited edition. Hanneman A3a; Oliver, Ernest Hemingway A to Z, pp.168-169.

Property from a Private St. Louis Collection

HEMINGWAY, Ernest (1899-1961). In Our Time. New York: Boni and Liveright, 1925.