Ernest Hemingway Collection, 1901, 2014, and undated

Summary

Creator:

Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961.

Abstract:

This artificial collection includes articles by or about Hemingway, movie posters, photographs, and 4 reels of film, manuscript letters, printed and miscellaneous materials about Ernest Hemingway and his books, diaries of Ernest's uncle, George R. Hemingway, and the organizational records of the Michigan Hemingway Society.

Extent:

6.5 cubic feet (in 8 boxes, 9 Oversized folders, 4 reels in 4 archival film canisters, and 52 framed items)

Language:

English

Authors:

Collection processed and finding aid created by Marian Matyn

Background

Scope and Content:

Materials by and about Ernest Hemingway in the collection include numerous periodicals with Articles by or about Hemingway, his books, and movies based on his books; numerous Movie Posters; other Posters of Hemingway, his homes, books, or exhibits about him; Photographs (copies), mostly from movies based on his books and some from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library; the (Film) ‘Adventures of a Young Man’, undated (4 reels); Manuscript Correspondence, five Letters written by Hemingway, one to Jim Gamble, April 18 and 27, 1919, one to Howell G. Jenkins, undated [summer 1919]; one to Ernest's father, Dr. Clarence Hemingway, Oct. 28, 1919, one to his mother, Mrs. Grace H. Hemingway, Nov. 12, 1919; and one to his son, J. H. N. Hemingway, dated 2 Feb. 1960, as well as copies of two letters written by Hemingway to Owen Wister dated March 1 and 11, 1929 (the originals are in the Library of Congress). Brochures; Advertisements; Exhibit Brochures; Postcards; Auction Catalogs; Sheet Music; Miscellaneous materials. Biographical Information (copies) and 52 Framed Items for exhibits, including posters, photographs, and other materials.

The letter written by Ernest to “Dear Dad”, dated October 28 9is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity by Ernest Hemingway Mainland dated June 25, 2007. The letter is typed with a signature and handwritten P.S. There are notations on the bottom of the letter “Rec’d 10/31/[1]919 and ans.[wered] 11/1/[1]919 CH [Clarence Hemingway]. The letter is two pages on one sheet of paper, which is folded in half, p. 1 is on top and p. 2 is underneath and upside down compared to p. 1. In the letter, Ernest notes he had a hard trip up the Missouri to Petoskey, when he traveled to Boyne City to visit Wesley, and that with his “typer” he is leaving Thursday for Petoskey. Ernest also notes that he is working on the “Woppian Way” and has read several books. (Note: This letter is housed separately from the rest of the collection.)

Of particular interest is the letter (original six p., and a copy) written by Hemingway on April 18 and 27, 1919 to his friend Jim Gamble, the Proctor and Gamble heir, detailing his desire to write even though submissions for publication were rejected, his dashed hopes for marriage, his hunger for recognition, his love of northern Michigan and trout fishing, and notes about people whose company he enjoyed while staying at Windemere Cottage, near Petoskey, Michigan. During this time, Hemingway was recovering from war wounds and a broken heart. The letter is typed with his signature. Included with the letter are copies of two Hemingway letters to Owen Wister, March 1 (6 p.) and 11 (5 p.), 1929, copied from the Library of Congress, and a letter to Henry M. Watts from Theodore Voorhees, December 11, 1979, concerning the copied letters. (Note: This letter is housed separately from the rest of the collection.)

Also, of note for its’ Michigan fishing connection and because it inspired his short story Big Two-Hearted River, is a six-page letter on blue paper written by Ernest Hemingway and signed “Hem. Hollow Bone Stein”, undated. The date of summer 1919 was written by an unidentified person, on a plain white envelope, which is not the original mailed envelope. In the letter Ernest describes a recent fishing trip to Seney, Michigan, he enjoyed with his friends Jack “Jock” Pentecost and Al Walker, the many large trout they caught on the Fox and Black rivers, being near Pictured Rocks, shooting a deer but not killing it, and fishing with friends Bill, Kate, Jack, and Jack Kate’s aunt, “Madam” Mrs. Joseph William Charles, that Ernest hopes to fish with additional friends in the same area next summer, and that he only has five dollars. (Note: This letter is housed separately from the rest of the collection.)

The letter (original two p. and envelope) written by Hemingway on November 11, 1919, mailed the following day, to his mother, Mrs. Grace H. Hemingway in Oak Park, Illinois, from Petoskey, Michigan. In this letter, Ernest notes how he has been very ill with a bad sore throat, notes Armistice Day, his prayers for the dead, complains of President Wilson robbing the “wops” and mentions Fiume. [Fiume was given to Yugoslavia from Italy.]He notes it is a lovely day, the linotypers are on strike so eastern magazines are not accepting articles, that he sent an article to the Post, that he is reading and working a lot, mentions the Bumps, and sends love to his family. (Note: This letter is housed separately from the rest of the collection.)

The letter from Ernest at Finca Vigia, Cuba, is addressed to his son “Dear Bum,” J. H. N. Hemingway in San Francisco, dated 8 February 1960. It is the only handwritten letter and is accompanied by the envelope, which is also handwritten. In the letter Ernest thanks Bun for his letter, and asks him to check on Christmas gifts, which have not yet arrived, and several addresses. Ernest notes he is very busy working on a piece about bull fights and Death in the Afternoon. He also notes that Mary’s arm is improving with massage and therapy.

Diaries (12), 1938, 1951, of George R. Hemingway, Ernest’s uncle, are also included in the collection. George worked as a representative of the Charlevoix Country Nursery and lived, with his wife, Anna, in East Jordan, Michigan. (This information is from the collection.)

The organizational records, 1990-present, of the Michigan Hemingway Society, including Articles of Incorporations, By-laws, goals and objectives, celebration and conference materials, meeting minutes, financial statements, and other related materials, complete the collection.

While the majority of the collection is in English, some of the movie posters are in French, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Polish, and other languages. The collection is ongoing.

A later addition (Acc# 73683) is three folders donated by Pat Davis. These include 2012 copies of six photographs or postcards of Horton Bay, mainly buildings and scenic views, Correspondence to Wesley about Ernest and Marcelline being in school, 1905, and to Mrs. Dilworth, announcing Ernest’s engagement, 1921, and sheet music, Song of Welcome, by Grace Hall-Hemingway, 1905. Also included is an announcement card that Dr. Clarence E. Hemingway moved his office to 221 Grove Avenue, 1905.The last folder includes newspaper clippings (copies) of Pat Davis, Dilworth House, and how life when Hemingway was there.

A later addition (Acc##77048) is The Woppian Way, A Story, which Ernest typed and then edited by hand in ink and pencil in the summer of 1919 in Michigan. It is believed to be his first attempt at serious fiction, one of his earliest attempts to drawn on real experiences, and is considered a transition story. The story is about an Italian-American prizefighter called Neroni who assumes the nom de guerre of Pickles McCarty. The four leaves are in bad shape, damaged by stains, perhaps mold, with holes, and p. 2 is in two pieces. A three page (copy) of a 1977 news article cites lines from the story which do not appear on these pages. Due to the damage level, the originals are housed in clear, archival photograph sleeves, and color-copies have been included for researchers.

Film ID Number: 67522-1: Format: 16mm, color, optical sound. Size: 1300 ft Physical information: .045” shrinkage. By Katie Zwick and Matt Hood, fall 2019. Overview of scenes: Leader includes old-style countdown. Professional titles. Strong red tint. Miscellaneous information: Copy of 1962 20th Century Fox production of Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man, Part 1. Description taken from imdb.com on 10/7/19 – An immature young man from Middle America grows to manhood after a cross-country journey and his military service in WWI. Stars Paul Newman, Diane Baker, and features Sharon Tate. A Jerry Wald production. Miscellaneous note: Some sound has been clipped out, red dye color fade/ deterioration throughout film.

Film ID Number: 67522-2: Format: 16mm, color, optical sound. Size: 1350 ft Physical information: .045” shrinkage. By Katie Zwick and Matt Hood, fall 2019. Overview of scenes: Leader includes old-style countdown. Professional titles. Strong red tint. Miscellaneous information: Copy of 1962 20th Century Fox production of Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man, Part 2. Description taken from imdb.com on 10/7/19 – An immature young man from Middle America grows to manhood after a cross-country journey and his military service in WWI. Stars Paul Newman, Diane Baker, and features Sharon Tate. A Jerry Wald production. Miscellaneous note: Some sound has been clipped out, red dye color fade/ deterioration throughout film.

Film ID Number: 67522-3: Format: 16mm, color, optical sound. Size: 1300 ft Physical information: .05” shrinkage. By Katie Zwick and Matt Hood, fall 2019. Overview of scenes: Leader includes old-style countdown. Professional titles. Strong red tint. Miscellaneous information: Copy of 1962 20th Century Fox production of Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man. Part 3. Description taken from imdb.com on 10/7/19 – An immature young man from Middle America grows to manhood after a cross-country journey and his military service in WWI. Stars Paul Newman, Diane Baker, and features Sharon Tate. A Jerry Wald production. Miscellaneous note: Some sound has been clipped out, red dye color fade/ deterioration throughout film.

Film ID Number: 67522-4: Format: 16mm, color, optical sound. Size: 1300 ft Physical information: .048” shrinkage. By Katie Zwick and Matt Hood, fall 2019. Overview of scenes: Leader includes old-style countdown. Professional titles. Strong red tint. Miscellaneous information: Copy of 1962 20th Century Fox production of Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man, Part 4. Description taken from imdb.com on 10/7/19 – An immature young man from Middle America grows to manhood after a cross-country journey and his military service in WWI. Stars Paul Newman, Diane Baker, and features Sharon Tate. A Jerry Wald production. Miscellaneous note: Some sound has been clipped out, red dye color fade/ deterioration throughout film.

User Note: The collection has a decidedly musty to lightly moldy smell and patrons with allergies or breathing problems should use the collection with care.

Processing Note: Most of the books in the collection are cataloged. Those few books for which no catalog record could be found were added to this manuscript collection. Later Oversized additions will be added at the end of the collection. Note: For encoding purposes the film canisters are listed as Box #8.

Biographical / Historical:

Biography:

Ernest Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899 in Oak Park (Ill.), the son of Dr. Clarence and Grace Hall-Hemingway. He had five siblings. The family summered at Walloon Lake near Petoskey (Mich.). After his high school graduation, Hemingway served as a volunteer ambulance driver for the American Red Cross in Italy. He was wounded by an Austrian Trench mortar in July 1918, and recovered in Milan and the U.S., to which he returned in Jan. 1919. Beginning in 1920, Hemingway sold his stories to the Toronto Star on a piece-by-piece basis. In 1921 he married the first of his four wives, Hadley Richardson, with whom he had a son, John H. N. They lived in Paris and Toronto. In 1926 Hemingway wrote his breakthrough novel, The Sun also rises. Several other novels soon followed. After Hadley divorced him, Ernest married Pauline Pfeiffer in 1927. They had two sons together, Patrick and Gregory. The Hemingways enjoyed Key West (Fla.) fishing and lived in Paris and Key West. In 1940 Pauline divorced him. Ernest then moved to Havana (Cuba), where he married Martha Gellhorn. In 1945, he divorced Martha. Hemingway married Mary Welsh Monks in Havana in 1946. They lived in Italy and Cuba, and traveled throughout Europe and Africa. After the Cuban Revolution they lived in Idaho. On July 2, 1961, Hemingway committed suicide. Hemingway is considered one of the greatest and most influential American author of the 20th century. He wrote many novels, essays, a film, and play, and reported on the Spanish Civil War and World War II. Many of his movies were sold for film rights for huge sums of money. In 1953 Hemingway was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for The Old man and the sea. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. (Information from American National Biography Online.)

Acquisition Information:

Acc# many

Arrangement:

The collection is divided into three series: materials by and about Ernest Hemingway, the diaries of his uncle, George R. Hemingway, and the organizational records of the Michigan Hemingway Society.

Subjects

Click on terms below to find any related finding aids on this site.

Subjects:

Authors, American--20th century.
War and society--United States--History--20th century.
World War, 1914-1918--Veterans.

Names:

Michigan Hemingway Society.
Hemingway family.
Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961--Biography.
Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961--Correspondence.
Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961--Criticism and Interpretation.
Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961--Exhibitions.
Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961--Farewell to arms.
Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961--For whom the bell tolls.
Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961--Homes and haunts--Cuba--Havana--Pictorial works.
Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961--Homes and haunts--Florida--Key West--Pictorial works.
Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961--Moveable feast.
Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961--Old man and the sea.
Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961--Pictorial works.
Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961--Portraits--Exhibitions.
Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961--Sun also rises.
Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961.

Places:

Petoskey (Mich.)--History.