# Is "The Fifth Column and the First Forty-Nine Stories" by Ernest Hemingway a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Fifth Column and the First Forty-Nine Stories by Ernest Hemingway (Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1938) is identified by: First printing has the Scribner seal with the letter A on the copyright page. True US first edition; precedes the UK Cape edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing has the Scribner seal with the letter A on the copyright page
- Bound in red cloth with Hemingway's facsimile signature stamped in black on the front cover and the spine lettered in gilt and black
- Issued in a dust jacket bearing the printed price
- Published October 14, 1938
- First collected appearance of four previously uncollected stories
- Publisher imprint reads Charles Scribner's Sons, New York
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ernest Hemingway |
| Publisher | Charles Scribner's Sons, New York |
| Year | 1938 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing has the Scribner seal with the letter A on the copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First printing has the Scribner seal with the letter A on the copyright page. Bound in red cloth with Hemingway's facsimile signature stamped in black on the front cover and the spine lettered in gilt and black. Issued in a dust jacket bearing the printed price. Published October 14, 1938. First collected appearance of four previously uncollected stories.

## Is this the true first?
True US first edition; precedes the UK Cape edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition of note; later printings drop the A and seal.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Fifth Column and the First Forty-Nine Stories* by Ernest Hemingway a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-fifth-column-and-the-first-forty-nine-stories
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.