ALS, one page, 8.5 x 11, January 20, 1959. Hemingway writes from his home in Ketchum, Idaho to Mr. Palmer. In part: “Could you please send me by regular book post the Raymond Chandler book that came out last fall—I missed it and can’t remember the title (was published first in England).” [The book in question is evidently the Philip Marlowe mystery Playback, Chandler’s last completed novel.] Hemingway then adds a fascinating and eclectic list of nine other titles, including the authors and publishers, that he wants sent to him: Valor (D. A. Rayner), The Hustler (the story by Walter S. Tevis, published in Harper’s, which became the basis for the classic 1961 film), All My Pretty Ones (Roger Hall), My Ten Years as a Counter Spy (B. Morros), Evelyn Waugh—Portrait Of An Artist (F. J. Stepp), The Ancient Marriners (sic; Lionel Casson), The Seasons Of America Past (Eric Sloane), The Seven Worlds of Theodore Roosevelt (Edward C. Wagenknecht), and The Sheltering Desert (Henno Martin). After signing in full, Hemingway adds and initials a short postscript: “Am working hard and I hope well.” A year and a half later, an increasingly despondent Hemingway committed suicide at his home in Ketchum. A one-of-a-kind glimpse into the reading habits of one of the towering figures of twentieth-century literature! In fine condition, with two horizontal mailing folds and a few neat pencil notations by the original recipient. COA John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and R&R COA.
