Life, Vol. 33, No. 9, September 1, 1952

This First Edition copy of Life Magazine, Vol. 33, No. 9 was published on September 1, 1952 and had a cover picture of Ernest Hemingway and, in large letters, the text "An Extra Dividend in this Issue 'THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA' BY HEMINGWAY A Complete New Book First Publication".

The Old Man and the Sea is a 1952 novella written by the American author Ernest Hemingway. Written between December 1950 and February 1951, it was the last major fictional work Hemingway published during his lifetime. It tells the story of Santiago, an aging fisherman, and his long struggle to catch a giant marlin. The novella was highly anticipated and was released to record sales; the initial critical reception was equally positive, but attitudes have varied significantly since then. Hemingway began writing The Old Man and the Sea in Cuba during a tumultuous period in his life. His previous novel Across the River and Into the Trees had met with negative reviews... Having completed one book of a planned "sea trilogy", Hemingway began to write as an addendum a story about an old man and a marlin that had originally been told to him fifteen years earlier. He wrote up to a thousand words a day, completing the 26,531-word manuscript in six weeks. Over the following year, Hemingway became increasingly convinced that the manuscript would stand on its own as a novella. Life magazinepublished the full novella in its September 1, 1952 issue. Hemingway's publisher, Scribner's, released their first edition a week later on the 8th. Thanks to favorable early reviews and word-of-mouth, popular anticipation was so high that both releases were heavily bootlegged... Translated into nine languages by the end of 1952, The Old Man and the Sea remained on the New York Times bestseller list for six months. In 1953, it received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and it was the only work explicitly mentioned when Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. [Wikipedia]

In this issue of Life, The Old Man and the Sea appears on pages 34 to 54. It is printed in a 2-column format and decorated throughout with colored drawings by Noel Sickles.

The magazine, which measures approximately 10.5 inches wide by 14 inches tall, contains 88 pages of text, illustrations, and advertisements. The magazine is staple-bound with paper covers. The magazine is complete – no missing or detached pages. There are some signs of wear, particularly along the outer edges and spine of the magazine and the remains of a subscriber's mailing label on the front cover.. The overall condition of the issue is very good.

The illustrations accompanying this description show:
1. The front cover of the magazine, with photograph of Ernest Hemingway
2. The magazine Title page, with table of Contents
3. Opening pages (2-page spread) of "Old Man and the Sea", with Hemingway photo on left and story text on right
4. Typical 2-page spread of "Old Man and the Sea" decorated text
5. Opening pages (2-page spread) of another interesting article, a Photographic Essay on Morningside Heights, NY