Fine Printed Books & Manuscripts, Including Americana

8vo. (Very light dampstaining at upper margins.) Original cloth-packed patterned boards (extremities toned, small spot of dampstaining to upper cover near top edge). Provenance: Ruth White Lowry (1884-1974), Hemingway's cousin and Kansas City native (ownership signature, recipient of Hemingway's signature, dated 28 July 1928).

Later edition. SIGNED BY HEMINGWAY TO HIS COUSIN, RUTH LOWRY. Hemingway appears to only sign his last name, with the first part of the inscription, including "Ernest", written in an unknown hand, presumably Ruth's.

At the time of the inscription, Ernest Hemingway was likely staying at the Folly Ranch in the Bighorn Mountains near Sheridan, Wyoming. He had traveled there earlier in July with his friend Bill Horne after leaving Kansas City, Missouri, where his son Patrick had been born on 28 June. Hemingway sought respite from the Midwest's heat and spent time writing and reflecting at the ranch.

Hemingway was first exposed to Eliot's work through Ezra Pound, who introduced him to The Waste Land. Heminway acknowledged Eliot's literary talent, referring to him as "a damned good poet and a fair critic." However, he often mocked Eliot personally, criticizing his conservative views, Anglo-Catholic beliefs, and perceived elitism. In a 1950 letter, Hemingway famously wrote that Eliot "can kiss my ass as a man," reflecting his disdain for Eliot's personality despite respecting his poetry.