The Spanish Earth [F. A. I. End Papers]

Cleveland: The J. B. Savage Company, 1938. First Edition. Decorative Cloth. Fine. Exceptionally scarce First Issue with F. A. I. banner end papers, one of fewer than 100 copies from a limited edition of 1000 copies, of which this is number 116. (Hemingway so disliked the original orange end papers showing soldiers advancing beneath the flag of the Federación Anarquista Ibérica, or F. A. I, one of the pro-Republican belligerents in the Spanish Civil War, that after an estimated 50 to 100 copies were bound (so reported by the publisher in a letter to Hanneman) the endpapers were changed to plain.) Illustrated by Frederick K. Russell, with introduction by Jasper Wood. Small, slim 8vo: 60pp, with 7 full-page original charcoal drawings. Publisher's tan linen cloth, front cover lettered in black and decorated in orange, spine lettered in black, printed throughout in black on tan Linweave paper, absent the original glassine jacket (fresh one added). A superlative copy, covers and spine almost pristine with barest hint of toning; tightly bound text, fresh and bright; superb illustrations. Hanneman A15a. Text of the narration for the sound track that Hemingway contributed to the 1938 film of the same name, about the Spanish Civil War, which broke out in 1936 with a military uprising in Morocco on July 17, triggered by events in Madrid. Within days, Spain was divided in two: a "Republican," or "Loyalist," Spain consisting of the Second Spanish Republic (within which were pockets of revolutionary anarchism and Trotskyism), and a "Nationalist" Spain under the insurgent generals and, eventually, under the leadership of General Francisco Franco. "Late in 1936, while Hemingway was working on To Have and Have Not, the North American Newspaper Alliance offered to hire him to report on the civil war being fought in Spain. The literary fruits of this undertaking, in addition to the news stories Hemingway produced to fulfill his contract, were the script for the narration of a pro-Republic documentary film, The Spanish Earth; a relatively unsuccessful play, The Fifth Column (published with his collected stories as The Fifth Column and the First Forty-nine Stories); a handful of short stories about wartime Spain, and his most successful novel in more than a decade, For Whom the Bell Tolls." (Literary Encyclopedia) The Spanish Earth was published by a precocious Cleveland high-school student named Jasper Wood, who was so moved on seeing the film that he convinced Hemingway to allow publication of the text. Fewer than a hundred copies were bound (this first issue is a notable Hemingway rarity) before Wood made the change to plain tan end papers (the second issue). N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, carefully preserved in archival, removable polypropylene sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed.