Hemingway’s Christmas letter to his mother up for auction

Boston, February 27

A rare signed letter written by American writer Ernest Hemingway, conveying Christmas wishes to his mother, may fetch over USD 2,500 at an auction in the US.

Signed ‘Ernie’, the letter dated December 22, 1938 was written from Key West in Florida, US.

The letter connects members of the Hemingway family--he mentions his sisters Marcelline and Madelaine (“Sunny”), as well as his brother Leicester.

“Much love and a very merry Christmas from us all. Your package has come and we are looking forward to opening it on Christmas Day,” Hemingway wrote in the letter.

“I’m so sorry poor Marce is ill. It’s marvellous about Sunny’s child and that Les has such a fine job and doing so well. Everyone well here and sends much love. Thank you too for the Kipling book I had for my birthday. It was so thoughtful of you,” he wrote.

“Please forgive my not writing more often. Everyone sends love and best Christmas wishes,” he wrote.

The letter is accompanied by the original mailing envelope addressed in Hemingway’s hand, according to US-based RR Auction.

The recipient, Grace Hall Hemingway, shared a complex and often contentious relationship with her son.

In later years, Hemingway became estranged from his mother, blaming her for his father’s suicide, and then neglecting to attend her funeral in 1951.

At the time of this letter, Hemingway had just returned from covering the Spanish Civil War for the North American Newspaper Alliance, and was soon to depart for Cuba, spending the next 20 years of his life at the Finca Vigia, or ‘lookout farm’. PTI