Hemingway, Ernest

3 pages on Gritti Palace-Hotel letterhead (9 3/4 x 6 1/2 in.; 248 x 165 mm), Venice, 3 May 1954; horizontal folds. With autograph envelope.

Condition as described in catalogue entry.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Hemingway on the mend. In this fine unpublished letter to Charles A. Fenton, written nine months and two plane crashes after his letter of 2 August 1953 (see preceding lot), Hemingway has settled his differences with the young writer and cordiality is the order of the day.  Commenting on his remarks in the 1953 letter, he says, "When I wrote you that it was OK to publish anything you wanted in case I went for a shit I thought maybe you would think that was morbid or romantic. The thing was I'd played that league before. We only get beat by bad luck and playing the strung out too long."

In January 1954, Hemingway and his wife Mary endured two plane crashes in Kenya and Uganda. They were unharmed in the first crash, but Hemingway suffered injuries in the second crash. The present letter was written while Hemingway recuperated in Venice. He gives Fenton a detailed report on his progress. "Been checking up the ruptured kidney and the smashed liver here. They are both functioning OK." After assessing the condition of all his vertebrae, he says, "I think this will all clear up because they found an old healed fracture that I never knew about.

"Burns are healed. You can hardly see the 3rd degrees

"The doctors think I'm some sort of very rare beast, quite different from the fragile character [Malcolm] Cowley invented. The gen you read is comic when you know the true gen." He confesses to Fenton, "I get tired of the pain. The part of the brain I write with is OK. But the body is still tired. I wish I could get the boat back to Africa from here, But it is the end of the rains…. I better go straight back to Havana and get in shape and put things in order and go through the motions.

"I can't fish big fish for a year … and I can't ride and I shouldn't drink. Maybe you can get me a job teaching if I get too fucking bored.…Maybe I can get some kid down that has some possibilities and I can teach to fish.…If I just write I'll never get well because I am always pooped afterwards and need real exercise to build back." 

Hemingway ends the letter with a report on how his wife is faring after the two plane crashes. "Miss Mary's in Spain. The 2nd one [plane crash] when the Kite burned wasn't good for her. But she flew Entebbe—Nairobi and now Paris—London et retour and she says it is easier all the time.…But burning in Kites is very hard on girls. Anyway she has been to the Feria at Sevilla and six fights and that's good for her. I'll meet her in Madrid and we'll get the boat home from Genoa.…Christ I'll be glad to see the cats and the dogs. We did OK (better than) with the fighting chickens. 16 won 4 lost. Glad they are going to have class AAA ball. Can't fight chickens if you have any brains after May 20. The coming on of the moult makes it too much of a gamble. Maybe pick up a few cocks in Spain."

A candid letter in which Hemingway discusses his health and his mental state.