6 – New Ending

Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), author

Louis Henry Cohn (d. 1953), collector, publisher

Louis Henry Cohn (d. 1953), a New York-based bookseller specializing in modern first editions at a shop called House of Books, was Ernest Hemingway's first bibliographer. Cohn began corresponding with Hemingway in 1930, collecting the author’s works as well as Hemingway’s corrections to Cohn’s emerging bibliography. Cohn also published a series entitled "The Crown Octavos" under the imprint of the House of Books. Number two of the series was Hemingway's God Rest You Merry Gentlemen published in a limited edition of 300 copies in mid-April of 1933, the first appearance of this short story. The galley proofs that Hemingway returned to Cohn included a new ending to the short story as compared with his typescript manuscript.

All items from the Louis Henry and Marguerite Cohn Hemingway collection

  1. “God rest you merry gentlemen,” typescript [carbon] with minor autograph corrections, 5 pages, undated
  2. “God rest you merry gentlemen,” galley proof, 5 pages, with autograph corrections, additions, and the inscription: "OK, EH," March 3, 1933
  3. God Rest You Merry Gentlemen. First edition. Crown Octavos, No. 2. New York: House of Books, 1933. Number 256 of three hundred copies