HEMINGWAY, Ernest. Autograph letter signed ("Papa") to Dr. George Saviers in Sun Valley; [Ketchum, Idaho], 12 November 1960. 1 page, 4to, blue ink, on laid paper from a pad with watermark "Stuart Hall Watermark Bond," tiny hole on blank margin; with the original envelope hand-addressed by Hemingway, but unstamped and unpostmarked, and probably just delivered to Dr. Saviers's post office box . AN ALIBI NOTE "Whenever Hemingway looked he found fears. Morose, losing weight rapidly, silent, brooding, and paranoid, Ernest was being sucked into a black hole from which he would not emerge...He worried about the FBI finding out that he brought Valerie [Danby-Smith, the young Irish woman who became part of the Hemingway circle during the Spanish bullfight summer of 1959 and who later acted as sometime secretary] into the country illegally, her visa expired. On October 25, he sent [his good friend A.E.] Hotchner a $1,500 check to pay Val's tuition at Columbia (a charade) and to apply to her New York living expenses. Thereafter, to keep [his wife] Mary from finding out how much money he was giving to Val, he arranged to communicate with her through George Saviers, who would be her postal station and banker. Then Hemingway began to worry that he had put Saviers at risk, so he wrote an alibi note for George stating that Saviers never knew what the letters contained or why they were being mailed" (Michael Reynolds Hemingway: The Final Years , New York: Norton, 1999, pp. 347-8). Hemingway writes: "If anything ever comes up you may remember absolutely truly that I asked you to accept a communication from Val and pass it on to me because I told you that I was worried about her being on her own in N.Y. and wanted her to be able to write to me and tell me how she was doing without annoying or up-setting Mary by her writing to me directly. You knew of no other reason or circumstance for her to write to me and I gave you no other reason. This is the truth and you can swear to it. Papa." Not in Letters , ed. C. Baker, and presumably unpublished; consulted by Reynolds and referred to in his biography (see above). [ With ]: HEMINGWAY, Ernest. Autograph note signed ("E H") to an unnamed recipient [Dr. George Saviers?], n.p., n.d. [presumably Ketchum, Idaho, ca. Fall 1960]. 1 page, 4to, in pencil on the same type of paper as the above letter, top edge where removed from pad a little ragged, several fold creases . The note, possibly relating to the letter, reads: "To Be Delivered in case of any enquiries by any public authorities or in case of my death. EH." (2)
HEMINGWAY, Ernest. Autograph letter signed ("Papa") to Dr. George Saviers in Sun Valley; [Ketchum, Idaho], 12 November 1960. 1 page, 4to, blue ink, on laid paper from a pad with watermark "Stuart Hall Watermark Bond," tiny hole on blank margin; with the original envelope hand-addressed by Hemingway, but unstamped and unpostmarked, and probably just delivered to Dr. Saviers's post office box . AN ALIBI NOTE "Whenever Hemingway looked he found fears. Morose, losing weight rapidly, silent, brooding, and paranoid, Ernest was being sucked into a black hole from which he would not emerge...He worried about the FBI finding out that he brought Valerie [Danby-Smith, the young Irish woman who became part of the Hemingway circle during the Spanish bullfight summer of 1959 and who later acted as sometime secretary] into the country illegally, her visa expired. On October 25, he sent [his good friend A.E.] Hotchner a $1,500 check to pay Val's tuition at Columbia (a charade) and to apply to her New York living expenses. Thereafter, to keep [his wife] Mary from finding out how much money he was giving to Val, he arranged to communicate with her through George Saviers, who would be her postal station and banker. Then Hemingway began to worry that he had put Saviers at risk, so he wrote an alibi note for George stating that Saviers never knew what the letters contained or why they were being mailed" (Michael Reynolds Hemingway: The Final Years , New York: Norton, 1999, pp. 347-8). Hemingway writes: "If anything ever comes up you may remember absolutely truly that I asked you to accept a communication from Val and pass it on to me because I told you that I was worried about her being on her own in N.Y. and wanted her to be able to write to me and tell me how she was doing without annoying or up-setting Mary by her writing to me directly. You knew of no other reason or circumstance for her to write to me and I gave you no other reason. This is the truth and you can swear to it. Papa." Not in Letters , ed. C. Baker, and presumably unpublished; consulted by Reynolds and referred to in his biography (see above). [ With ]: HEMINGWAY, Ernest. Autograph note signed ("E H") to an unnamed recipient [Dr. George Saviers?], n.p., n.d. [presumably Ketchum, Idaho, ca. Fall 1960]. 1 page, 4to, in pencil on the same type of paper as the above letter, top edge where removed from pad a little ragged, several fold creases . The note, possibly relating to the letter, reads: "To Be Delivered in case of any enquiries by any public authorities or in case of my death. EH." (2)
Try LotSearch and its premium features for 7 days - without any costs!
Be notified automatically about new items in upcoming auctions.
Create an alert
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
