First Edition Points and Criteria for For Whom the Bell Tolls

Year Published: 1940
Author Last Name: Hemingway
Author First Name: Ernest
Publisher: Charles Scribner's Sons
Original Price: $2.75
Pages: 471

The first edition has an "A" on the copyright page. However, there is some debate over whether the Scribner's seal should also be present on the copyright page. Other Scribner's books published around the same time such as To Have and Have Not, The Yearling, The Dark Horse, The Last Tycoon, and Cross Creek all have both the "A" and the seal. On the other hand we have not seen or heard about a copy of For Whom the Bell Tolls with both. The photo on this page was sent to us several years ago, and we have heard feedback that the photo looks suspect because the seal is not on the bottom of the page like in other Scribner's first editions. So we will label the photo as "not verified" and continue to be on the look-out for a book that will prove one way or another, whether both the "A" and the seal should be present. So at this point the jury is out. That said, we should also point out that editions with just the "A" are NOT scarce. There seems to be plenty of them on the market.

The first issue dust jacket lacks a photo credit on the reverse under the photo of Hemingway. That point is well established.

For Whom the Bell Tolls was a Pulitzer Prize Finalist.


Picture of the 1940 first edition dust jacket for For Whom the Bell Tolls.


This photo was sent to us several years ago, and is not verified because we were unable to locate another book with the same copyright page. Some have said that this photo looks suspect because the seal is not on the bottom of the page like in other Scribner's first editions. So even though we are suspicious, we are keeping this photo on the page to keep you aware of the possibility that a book with both the "A" and the seal might exist.


Picture of dust jacket where original $2.75 price is found for For Whom the Bell Tolls.


Picture of the back dust jacket for the first edition of For Whom the Bell Tolls.


Picture of the first edition Charles Scribner's Sons boards for For Whom the Bell Tolls.


Picture of the back dust jacket flap for the first edition of For Whom the Bell Tolls.


The first issue dust jacket lacks a photo credit on the reverse under the photo of Hemingway. The second issue states "Photograph by Arnold - Sun Valley".


This is the copyright page from the First Edition Library edition. Although it does have an A on the copyright page just like the true first, it also has several lines of text explaining that it is a facsimile of the first edition.

Other first edition points for books by Ernest Hemingway include: The Old Man and the Sea, Death in the Afternoon, Across the River and into the Trees, The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, To Have and Have Not, Men Without Women.