--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There was a pair of books, one by…" description: "\"“There was a pair of books, one by Hemingway, another by Thomas Wolfe. Each had written a long inscription to the other. A knowledgeable dealer had to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/353/allison-hoover-bartlett-45441_books_there-was-a-pair-of-books-one-by-hemingw_80038.jpg" --- # There was a pair of books, one by Hemingway, another by… ![“There was a pair of books, one by Hemingway, another by Thomas Wolfe. Each had written a long inscription to the other. A knowledgeable dealer had to inform the unfortunate owner who had just paid a pretty penny for them that the inscriptions were not authentic, and that the value was not what he…” quote by Allison Hoover Bartlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/353/allison-hoover-bartlett-45441_books_there-was-a-pair-of-books-one-by-hemingw_80038.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/353/allison-hoover-bartlett-45441_books_there-was-a-pair-of-books-one-by-hemingw_80038.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/353/allison-hoover-bartlett-45441_books_there-was-a-pair-of-books-one-by-hemingw_80038.jpg) > ““There was a pair of books, one by Hemingway, another by Thomas Wolfe. Each had written a long inscription to the other. A knowledgeable dealer had to inform the unfortunate owner who had just paid a pretty penny for them that the inscriptions were not authentic, and that the value was not what he had hoped. Later, another dealer discovered that they were spectacular forgeries: Wolfe had written Hemingway’s inscription, and Hemingway, Wolfe’s.”” [Allison Hoover Bartlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-hoover-bartlett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A dealer revealed that two books, supposedly bearing genuine inscriptions from Hemingway and Wolfe, were actually forged, swapping the authors' signatures, thus exposing the deception and the loss of value for the buyer. **In simple terms:** Deceptive authenticity in literary collectibles. Key Takeaway Forgery can undermine perceived value. Themes authenticity literary history forgery value perception trust market deception Mood irritated cautious inquisitive Type anecdote cautionary tale literary trivia When to use this quote - buying rare books - auction house appraisal - collecting author memorabilia - selling literary artifacts - evaluating provenance Key Concepts inscriptions literary reputation collector market authenticity verification Practical Applications - authenticating rare book collections - educating collectors on forgery detection Questions to Reflect On - How does perceived authenticity affect market price? - What safeguards can prevent such forgeries? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Forgeries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgeries/) ## Related quotes > [If I had not existed, someone else would have written me, Hemingway, Dostoyevsky, all of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/if-i-had-not-existed-someone-else-would-have-written-me-hemingway-2/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [If I had not existed, someone else would have written me, Hemingway, Dostoevski, all of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/if-i-had-not-existed-someone-else-would-have-written-me-hemingway/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [If my forgeries looked as bad as the CBS documents, it would have been 'Catch Me In Two Days'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-abagnale/if-my-forgeries-looked-as-bad-as-the-cbs-documents-it-would-have-been/) [Frank Abagnale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-abagnale/) > [“You must be clever, Tracey to do these forgeries." "She's not clever. I did them," yelled Frieda. "You'll get five years." "She did them."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-quaker/you-must-be-clever-tracey-to-do-these-forgeries-she-s-not-clever-i/) Robyn Quaker > [I am always fascinated when people talk about 'the forging of a nation'. Most nations are forgeries, perpetrated in the last century or so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/i-am-always-fascinated-when-people-talk-about-the-forging-of-a-nation/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [“I have shown in all the foregoing parts of this work that the Bible and Testament are impositions and forgeries; and I leave the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/i-have-shown-in-all-the-foregoing-parts-of-this-work-that-the-bible/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [The fact that you can forge a twenty dollar bill doesn't prove that all twenty dollar bills are forgeries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sheldrake/the-fact-that-you-can-forge-a-twenty-dollar-bill-doesn-t-prove-that/) [Rupert Sheldrake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sheldrake/) > [“In truth, she had claim to no nationality. Her papers were all forgeries, and her accents -all except one, in her first language, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/in-truth-she-had-claim-to-no-nationality-her-papers-were-all/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [From lies to forgeries the step is not so long, and I have written technical essays on the logic of forgeries and on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/from-lies-to-forgeries-the-step-is-not-so-long-and-i-have-written/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [Things, when magnified, are forgeries of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-joshua-heschel/things-when-magnified-are-forgeries-of-happiness/) [Abraham Joshua Heschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-joshua-heschel/) > [“Forgeries of the truth handily outnumber all of the forgeries of men combined.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/forgeries-of-the-truth-handily-outnumber-all-of-the-forgeries-of-men/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [ “\[Death is\] to lose the earth you know, for greater knowing; to lose the life you have, for greater life; to leave the friends… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wiley-cash/death-is-to-lose-the-earth-you-know-for-greater-knowing-to-lose-the/) [Wiley Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wiley-cash/) > [“After experiencing life in Nazi Germany, Thomas Wolfe wrote, “Here was an entire nation … infested with the contagion of an ever-present fear. It was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/after-experiencing-life-in-nazi-germany-thomas-wolfe-wrote-here-was/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [I do not agree with Thomas Wolfe... about anything. You can go home again as long as you don't expect home to be what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-burr/i-do-not-agree-with-thomas-wolfe-about-anything-you-can-go-home-again/) [Raymond Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-burr/) > [I've read everything Thomas Wolfe ever wrote; my brother and I memorized whole chapters of 'You Can't Go Home Again' and 'Look Homeward, Angel.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-ve-read-everything-thomas-wolfe-ever-wrote-my-brother-and-i/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## More by Allison Hoover Bartlett > [“The difference between a person who appreciates books, even loves them, and a collector is not only degrees of affection, I realized. For the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-hoover-bartlett/the-difference-between-a-person-who-appreciates-books-even-loves-them/) [Allison Hoover Bartlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-hoover-bartlett/) > [“On a spring day in 1988…a Massachusetts man who collected books about local history was rummaging through a bin in a New Hampshire antiques…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-hoover-bartlett/on-a-spring-day-in-1988-a-massachusetts-man-who-collected-books-about/) [Allison Hoover Bartlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-hoover-bartlett/) > [“I valued that half-dream state of being lost in a book so much that I limited the number of pages I let myself read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-hoover-bartlett/i-valued-that-half-dream-state-of-being-lost-in-a-book-so-much-that-i/) [Allison Hoover Bartlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-hoover-bartlett/) > [“A book is much more than a delivery vehicle for its contents.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-hoover-bartlett/a-book-is-much-more-than-a-delivery-vehicle-for-its-contents/) [Allison Hoover Bartlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-hoover-bartlett/) > [“After all, much of the fondness avid readers, and certainly collectors, have for their books is related to the books' physical bodies. As much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-hoover-bartlett/after-all-much-of-the-fondness-avid-readers-and-certainly-collectors/) [Allison Hoover Bartlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-hoover-bartlett/) > [“It had a crisp paper jacket, unlike the paper-covered library books I was used to, and the way the pages parted, I could tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-hoover-bartlett/it-had-a-crisp-paper-jacket-unlike-the-paper-covered-library-books-i/) [Allison Hoover Bartlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-hoover-bartlett/) [Explore all 7 Allison Hoover Bartlett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-hoover-bartlett/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There was a pair of books, one by Hemingway, another by Thomas Wolfe. Each had written a long inscription to the other. A knowledgeable dealer had to inform the unfortunate owner who had just paid a pretty penny for them that the inscriptions were not authentic, and that the value was not what he had hoped. 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