ALS, two pages, 5.75 x 8.75, Strand Hotel, Rangoon, no date [circa 1941]. Hemingway writes to Mrs. Woodford, apologizing for not sending a book and writing that he has ordered one to be sent from Hong Kong. In full: “Someone pinched that book I promised you and I have tried all over town to get one with no success. Have ordered one sent to you from Hong Kong and you should have it by next CNAC plane. I hope we will see you and your husband again sometime – somewhere.” In very good condition, with several intersecting moderate mailing folds and creases (one fold through portion of first name), some trivial light foxing, and staple holes to top left corners. Hemingway’s writing and signature are very bold.
The book Hemingway refers to is likely For Whom the Bell Tolls, published in 1940. The fact that he composed this missive on Strand Hotel stationery points to 1941 being the correct date as Hemingway and his third wife, Martha Gellhorn, spent part of their honeymoon in Rangoon in May 1941. Perhaps it was simply the bravado of a newly married man, but while at the Strand, Hemingway met with Martin Joseph Hillenbrand, an American diplomat, who later wrote of how “Papa” bragged of inventing the Bloody Mary in a Hong Kong bar. According to Hillenbrand, that claim was the only noteworthy statement made during their encounter. Around the same time, Hemingway also wrote for the short-lived New York newspaper PM. Six months before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hemingway’s stories showed a grasp of things to come, as he predicted that Japan’s attack on British and American bases in the Pacific and Southeast Asia would force the US into World War II. A (naturally) well-written note. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RRAuction COA.
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