Hemingway Presentation Copy of The Old Man and the Sea Inscribed to Spencer Tracy Sold for $83K
Bonhams
Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea with inscription to Spencer Tracy
Leading Bonhams’ 'white glove' Spencer Tracy: Collection of a Screen Icon auction was an advance issue presentation copy of The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway which soared to more than 55 times its estimate when it sold for $83,050.
One of only 30 pre-publication copies printed in August 1952, this example is one of just two known copies inscribed by Hemingway bearing a personal inscription to Spencer Tracy who would later portray Santiago in the 1958 film adaptation.
Other major standouts from the sale included:
- a first edition, presentation copy of John F. Kennedy’s first book, Why England Slept (1940), inscribed to Spencer Tracy, which sold for $15,360, more than seven times its estimate
- a painting by actress Katherine Hepburn ($9,600)
- Peter Pan and Tinkerbell reproduction celluloid print from the Disney Peter Pan movie, signed by Walt Disney Disney, 1953 ($9,600)
