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ALS signed “All love and Kiss much Hugalug, Big Kitten,” three pages, 7.5 x 9.75, October 15, 1959. Handwritten letter to his wife Mary, playfully calling her "Dearest Kittner," with significant content referring to his delusionary nightmares (a factor in his suicide eighteen months later), the brilliant matador Antonio Ordonez, and his writing of a bullfight article for Life magazine, 'The Dangerous Summer.'
In full: "Am hurrying to get this off before I start work so excuse any faults. Your pictures came and were lovely and everyone very happy and grateful you really do take wonderful pictures and they had all the fine quality of the old family groups. Enclose this piece in Sunday Times that came yesterday about BB. I never went because we were such good friends in letters and I was afraid he would be disappointed with the person.
Enclose checks $500 for your house expenses. Rene has all the money for Oct expenses. He wrote me after last checks I sent in Sept except $107.25 on the Semanas of Oct. so send check for him for $608.25. The Semanas plus the mes for November First and money over that for the first Semana and extras. He sent good accounts which I will bring. Am sure he has kept all the others well at the place. Enclose check too for Gregorio for 1st of month. Please see he for Christ's sake has boat ready for when Antonio [Ordonez] comes. It would be too bloody if we stayed away. I gave him money to do everything he needed to do and then he would leave boat out of commission. Note that the c[y]clones are up into the I's—But understand they've been away on the usual, as of late, pattern. (Hope I can write better than that when I crank up at the end of this page).
Won't bother you with my troubles physical, moral, spiritual, monetary, logistical—but summary of working conditions is bad nightmares, wake with unbearable pain in neck, get back to sleep, rub neck and walk off cramps, if can't sleep lie still and rest and say my prayers for other peoples, get up with deadly black ass and then work no matter what until half past one or two at which time I ring the cow bell and Negro puts the music on and I act cheerful cuesta lo quecuestan.
Including traveling time here from Paris on May 5th (afternoon of) have averaged 500 words a day which means plenty concentration since here as wrote nothing on trip altho took good notes on country for the novel where it is in Hendaye and in Spain. Have driven and made notes over every place those unfortunate kids drove except the Riviera part which is so changed it would only kill what you remember. But have gotten the driving impressions and the fast car stuff down and solidly replanted in my head. I love writing to you so if you will pardon I will lay off starting drilling this my own tooth / your oil well / and put down some more.
Antonio cabled he had very bad bulls in his first fight, they ran and he could not make a faena. In his second fight Monday the 12th he had good Miuros and was fine with them both cutting ear of second. I hope to be there the 4th—that will give one day in N.Y. will try to come down the same way we came up. I would love to go on the Jet after reading you on it but have good outside cabin guaranteed for $387 and had already paid for it before I got your letter also will save enormously on baggage. This piece is much longer than I figured but I have to make something very good for that price so will make it as long as have to. The best time for them to publish would be the spring and after. I have it's back broken will have Bill [Davis] hang photostat [of] it to prove I wrote it here (outside U.S.) so tax man won't want to make a compromise on that, and then can write the rest in Cuba after Ketchum. Bill is going into town so must stop." Double-matted and framed with a portrait of Hemingway to an overall size of 25 x 29.5. In fine condition.
Hemingway wrote this letter near the end of his stay in Spain while living at La Cónsula, the estate of American expatriate Nathan 'Bill' Davis near Málaga. The estate provided a quiet base where Hemingway could write and rest between bullfights, which he had come to Spain to follow closely. That summer, the famed bullfighters Antonio Ordóñez and his brother-in-law Luis Miguel Dominguín competed in a dramatic series of mano-a-mano bullfights, and Hemingway had agreed to cover the season for Life magazine while keeping detailed notes.
By October, the festivities had ended and Mary Hemingway was eager to return to Cuba after a difficult summer, but Hemingway insisted on staying in Spain to begin writing his article while still immersed in the atmosphere of the country. He finally started on October 10, quickly producing thousands of words as he reflected on Spain and the bullfighting season. Though Life had requested only 10,000 words, the project grew into a 120,000-word manuscript titled The Dangerous Summer, centered on the intense 1959 rivalry and portraying Antonio Ordóñez as the season’s hero.
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