Nows and Forevers

One of the art works that went into the public domain on Jan. 1 is “A Farewell to Arms,” the World War I epic by Ernest Hemingway that was first published in 1929. I actually own a hardcover first edition, sans dust jacket, of “A Farewell to Arms,” which I picked up for a dollar in the ‘80s when I went to a library used book sale in Connecticut.

I didn’t know it was a first edition until, one day a few weeks later, I picked it up and noticed it wasn’t a reprint and it was in great condition for being almost as old as my grandparents. No one else noticed either, although that was in the day when book dealers and others didn’t have instant access to databases on their iPhones.

Turns out I’ve read a lot from 1929, looking at this list. And some of the Marx Brothers’ best, too.