8.25" x 12.75" One Page Contract, Dated January of 1953 and personally signed at the conclusion in fountain pen by Ernest Hemingway, and countersigned in ballpoint by Miguel Angel Quevedo. This is a fantastic document authorizing the translation of The Old Man and the Sea into Spanish, executed at Hemingway's residence in Havana, Cuba. In part (translated): "The first part: Ernest Hemingway, writer…citizen of United States…resident of 'La Vigia'…The second part: the magazine Bohemia, represented by its director Mr. Miguel Angel Quevedo, have agreed on the following: 1. Mr. Hemingway is the author of the novel written in English 'The Old Man and the Sea'…authorizes Mr. Quevedo, without a fee, to publish once in the magazine Bohemia, of Havana…the Spanish translation of said novel…The magazine…in exchange for this free right to publish, promises to give…$1000 to the San Lazaro Leper Sanatorium…so that the said hospital can buy televisions and radios for the use of the patients." In fine condition, with scattered creasing and some slight chipping to edges. Accompanied by a second document, between Cuban writer Lino Novas Calvo and the Globe Press, publisher of Bohemia, regarding the publication of Novas Calvo's translation of The Old Man and the Sea. Further accompanied by a full Letter of Authenticity from Beckett Authentication Services.
The Spanish translation of Hemingway's enduring novel, The Old Man and the Sea ('El Viejo y El Mar'), was first published in the Cuban magazine Bohemia on March 15, 1953. The magazine introduced the enduring work in a brief preface, in part (translated): 'Bohemia today offers its readers a great novel. A great novel is not an everyday thing. It is also important to underline that it is a Cuban novel—as well as an American one and for all men. It is also a work of all time.'