Winner Take Nothing Ernest Hemingway Fiction

The scarcest of the UK editions of Hemingway's books, this copy from the library of the writer Christopher Dilke, with the handsome C.W.Dilke bookplate designed by Reynolds Stone. The two men were friends. Both had homes in Dorset not far from Bridport, where this book is being sold. Reynolds Stone designed bookplates for many well-known figures, such as the Prince of Wales (now King Charles III). This copy of Winner Take Nothing has numerous minor flaws, but it is a very evocative edition. The lettering on the front and spine is very 1930s, and the yellow boards are made of an appealing fabric and colour. Cape went through a phase of specifying production details, and in this case the cloth - "fast to light and washable" - was made by Morton Sundour Fabrics Ltd. "Sundour" could be a perfect name for the yellow as it now is. Anyway, there are 14 stories inside, nicely laid out on good quality paper (made by John Dickinson & Co. Ltd). It's a book that's obviously been read and handled and enjoyed. There is some spotting to the pages throughout and around the edges of the pages when viewed as a block. It's still well-bound - the front and back hinges are notably sound - but between the different sections of the book (the signatures) - there is usually some exposure down the gutter. One of the photos of the text has been chosen to show an instance of this. Some signatures - for example, M, P, and Q - are not like this, but it's important to give a proper impression of a book. In the bottom left hand corner of the inside front cover there are five small patches where the yellow board is showing through, the bottom corner of the front endpaper directly opposite has some marks of thinning to the paper if you look very closely. Externally, as other photos show, there is some fraying at the bottom of the spine, and a bit less at the top. There's part of what looks like a glass or cup mark on the back, and there are various other marks of shelter and handling. No dust-jacket. All in all, still a good copy, in a form very redolent of its time - 1934.