I was browsing through the JFK Library's photo archives and found a gallery of images from Hemingway's 1933-34 and 1953-54 safaris in Kenya and Tanganyika. These are higher resolution copies than what I had seen before, and there is one rare color photo where, looking quite the hero, Papa poses as though he was any other member of Accurate Reloading alongside his quite nice cape buffalo. Good to see that as hunters, things like that don't much change over time and that we're all hams when it comes to our trophy photos.

Interestingly, the photos showing the two kudu I have to assume are the very animals that gave rise to Hemingway's bitter frustration and temper tantrum he so honestly recounted in "Green Hills of Africa". The larger of the two was taken by his hunting companion Charles Thompson (aka "Karl") diminishing Hemingway's briefly triumphant and hard-sought trophy. It was this episode that gave rise to the kudu's moniker, "grey ghost of Africa".

As I know many of you also had Hemingway as an early influence, I thought I would post the best of these photos. Most have been around for a while, but not usually in this quality/resolution. And if, like me, you create photo books of your safaris (e.g., Apples's iBook), these shots make nice historical references aside your own photos. Enjoy!


Hemingway posing with a fine Cape buffalo taken in Kenya 1954 holding his much reviled double rifle (this was his last African safari and seven years before he committed suicide)


Hemingway with the lion he attributed to his wife's marksmanship - Kenya 1934


Ben Fourie, Charles Thompson, Philip Percival, and Ernest Hemingway, Tanganyika, Africa, February 1934


Hemingway posing behind the kudu shot by his friend Charles Thompson - his smaller kudu is conveniently off to the side


Hemingway after falling in brush fire, Shimoni Camp, Kenya, 1954


Ernest and Mary Hemingway on safari in Kenya, 1953/54 (apparently channeling the spirit of Teddy Roosevelt, this is the same safari where he shamelessly took up with a native girl as his mistress, referring to her in his writings as his "fiancée")

Great pics Kim, some I never saw. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for posting Kim, great photos. And you're right, I haven't seen any of his photos in a resolution so high.

Interesting photographs, although I could have done without the gratuitous editorial remarks.

Cool photos! Thanks for taking the time to post them.

Cool photos....and I like the comments.....

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
Interesting photographs, although I could have done without the gratuitous editorial remarks.

Interesting photos. The gratuitous editorial remarks added to the interest of the photos and the post.

Thank you, Tom

Kim,
This is the kind of thing that makes AR worth logging onto everyday.
Thanks for posting.
Rich Elliott

Another thank you for posting these photographs!

Thanks for sharing these, Kim. They are great.

And I like the comments as well. Adds to the pics.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
Interesting photographs, although I could have done without the gratuitous editorial remarks.

...."gratuitous editorial remarks".

Its interesting to learn about the man,not just his hunting results.
Despite his strong monolithic hyper-masculinity, some of his fiction novels were based on gay characters, one of them a spanish bull fighter titled "The mother of a Queen", he probably choose such because of the tough fearless bravado nature of the profession.
Ernests mother dressed him as a girl for the first couple years of his life.
Ernests youngest son, transgender Gloria Hemingway, died in a womens detention centre.
Gloria, like his father Ernest; married 4 times, suffered from depression and alchoholism.
Ernest was taught to shoot by his father, from about 2 1/2 yrs of age.
Ernest took his own life[with his shotgun],and his father did same in 1928, by shooting himself with a Civil War pistol.

http://www.google.com.au/imgre...3D708%26tbs%3Disch:1

http://www.google.com.au/imgre...3D708%26tbs%3Disch:1

http://www.yuddy.com/celebrity/ernest-hemingway/bio

Thank you for posting the pics, great stuff!

Thank you for posting, fantastic photos.

Great photos and I also enjoyed your comments.
Bull1

Hemingway was 'one of us', and perhaps more than anyone other than Roosevelt, laid the groundwork for what would become 'going on safari' for Western adventurers. Thanks for the kind comments (Mike, forward your address and I'll send you a refund for suffering the 'gratuitous comments').

I have a few more photos of Hemingway and hunting, but while interesting they are not very high quality. For what they're worth, here you go:


Another of Hemingway's Cape buffalo taken in Kenya, 1934. This buff was brought down with his much loved Griffin & Howe Springfield .30-06. I guess no one bothered to tell him he was undergunned!


It is claimed that this is Hemingway during his 1934 safari but I have my doubts as to its provenance. Anyone with more information about this photo?


Hemingway with a leopard taken in Kenya, 1954. There was some controversy as to whether this was a leopard he had killed or had been shot by Philip Percival. Given that the photo was for LOOK magazine (which had paid over $15,000 for the photo rights and another $10,000 for a short article by EH) his wife was worried about controversy. In the end, there was general agreement that this was indeed Hemingway's leopard.


Hemingway performing his morning writing ritual at Shimoni Camp, Kenya, 1954 (Unusual for him to write sitting down; he wrote all of "Green Hills of Africa" standing - as was his custom - at his custom writing stand in his Key West home's atelier)


Hemingway writing in camp in Tanganyika 1954


Hemingway 'hunting' German U-boats off the Florida coast onboard his boat Pilar


A European mount of one of Hemingway's Cape Buffalo in Finca Vigia, Cuba


An impala taken by Hemingway and hanging in Finca Vigia, Cuba

Great picts Kim, thanks for the glimpse into the past. When in “HD”, doesn’t look all that different than today as you said. I wonder how we will appear to onlookers when our pictures show up on some digital media in 70-80 years….

PS - somebody should tell the Library that its not a "Water_Buffalo"!

quote:

Originally posted by Bill C:
I wonder how we will appear to onlookers when our pictures show up on some digital media in 70-80 years….

One might hope, Bill, that they will simply post the photographs, and dispense with presumptuous value judgments.

Gratuitous: uncalled for, lacking good reason.

Never presume to understand what motivates anyone other than yourself, and you will be less confused, and give far less offense.

Everyone's a critic, whether well or ill equipped for the task.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:

quote:

Originally posted by Bill C:
I wonder how we will appear to onlookers when our pictures show up on some digital media in 70-80 years….

One might hope, Bill, that they will simply post the photographs, and dispense with presumptuous value judgments.

Gratuitous: uncalled for, lacking good reason.

Never presume to understand what motivates anyone other than yourself, and you will be less confused, and give far less offense.

Everyone's a critic, whether well or ill equipped for the task.

Wow, Mike. I'm not sure where to begin. My intent was to simply post some interesting Hemingway photos and personal thoughts. It seemed innocent enough at the time.

While I appreciate that you would prefer that I "simply post the photographs, and dispense with presumptuous value judgments", this is my post after all. It was my choice to upload those photos and, inasmuch as it's my post, I chose to append comments to them. Is that your definition of being "presumptuous"? If you had paid me to post those photos, or perhaps you were the owner of this website, you might have grounds to tell me what I should or shouldn't express an opinion on. But you're none of those, so what makes you think your value judgments should supersede mine on a post of my creation?

As for being "gratuitous", I'm not sure that's even possible on one's own post. In case it has somehow eluded you, this is a forum where people posit their views and opinions. That's what I did. If I've offended you, it was certainly not my intent. But "lacking good reason"? My reason was that I felt like expressing my opinion. You can choose to read such opinion or ignore it.

Finally, I'm afraid that you incorrectly presume upon yourself a gift of insight: I'm not confused, at least not about what I wrote - though I'll admit to being confused as to how I managed to piss you off. You may think me "ill equipped for the task" (I'm guessing that means I'm not as bright as you, right?) of being a critic or commentator on Hemingway, but unless AR has overnight become a peer-reviewed scholarly journal, I'm not sure my relative expertise is even relevant.

Just a suggestion, Mike, but perhaps you ought to ratchet back the self-importance, switch channels, or simply change to a de-caffeinated coffee.

quote:

Originally posted by Trax:
Ernests mother dressed him as a girl for the first couple years of his life.

That may be true, but I don't believe the photos you linked prove anything of the sort. At the turn of the century it was very common for male babies to be dressed in "dresses", especially for photo shots.

There is a photo of Elmer Keith as a baby. He was wearing a dress.

Wonderful pics.

Kim, thanks for taking the time to post these pics and particularly for adding the "gratuitous" remarks.

It is obvious that there are many like myself that do not have the Mike's overwhelming background knowledge and insight but have found the comments helpful in putting things into perspective with what we do know.

Mike, I started to type something for your consideration but decided your gratuitous postings weren't worth the effort.

As I have said, everyone's a critic, whether well or ill equipped to the task.

I prefer not to indulge in ill-considered judgments, or give credence to psychobabble, as concerns Hemingway.

Yet many still judge and disparage him, in the most facile and stupid ways. It reflects more poorly on them than on him.

I put it this way: Do you hunt and respect the buffalo, or the lowly tick that rides him?

Or another way: Judge not, lest ye be judged.

quote:

quote:
Originally posted by Trax:
Ernests mother dressed him as a girl for the first couple years of his life.


That may be true, but I don't believe the photos you linked prove anything of the sort. At the turn of the century it was very common for male babies to be dressed in "dresses", especially for photo shots.

There is a photo of Elmer Keith as a baby. He was wearing a dress.

Jason

It was a Victorian thing, my grandfather was dressed that way too.


You really want to understand Gregory read Valerie Hemingway's book and you;ll see that he was really off even as a kid. It sounded as though Gregory was never really happy his entire life.

I dont doubt what you say, but it is possible his eccentric mother also made a habit of dressing him as a girl.
Suicide,bi-polar/depression,divorces,alcoholism, substance abuse and wearing dressses are things characteristic of more than just one male Hemingway.

http://www.worldwar1-history.c...ngway-Biography.aspx
"His mother, Grace Hall Hemingway, dressed and raised him as a girl for part of his life, calling him "Ernestine". Accounts vary from two years. Some reports claim that, when Ernest Hemingway was born, his mother fantasized that he was the twin of his older, 18-month-old sister, Marcelline. Some accounts hold that she dressed them both as girls and let their hair grow long, then later cut their hair and dressed them both as boys."

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002133/bio
"His father's interests in history and literature, as well as his outdoorsy hobbies - fishing and hunting, became a lifestyle for Hemingway. His mother was a domineering type. She dressed Ernest as a girl and called him Ernestine.."

http://www.csustan.edu/english...chap7/hemingway.html
"Ernest Miller Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899, in Oak Park, Illinois, to Dr. Clarence Hemingway and Grace Hall Hemingway. Oak Park was a mainly Protestant, upper middle-class suburb of Chicago that Hemingway would later refer to as a “town of wide lawns and narrow minds." (Gerogiannis 188) The second among six children, Ernest spent the first two years of his life dressed as a girl by his mother. She called him “Ernestine” and fantasized that he was the twin of his older sister, as she dressed them both in matching dresses and gave them similar hairstyles (Rozkis 233). As he grew older, however, his father stepped in and insisted that Ernest be “raised like a man,” teaching him how to behave and introducing him at a young age to hunting, fishing, and boxing, all activities in which he would stay interested for the rest of his life (Gerogiannis). It is perhaps this early start at questioning his manliness and his father’s attempts to drive any femininity out of him that instilled his characteristic obsession with proving his masculinity throughout his life."

If any one really suffered by the hand of Grace Hall it was Ernest's father...

Wonderful pics. Thank you for sharing them.

MR: been reading your thoughts and reports for a number of years now, and I have both enjoyed your words and level-headed input, and have respect for your expertise and wit. For the first time I can recall, I think you're both out of line, and character here. Lighten up a bit, wot?

quote:

Originally posted by Trax:
I dont doubt what you say, but it is possible his eccentric mother also made a habit of dressing him as a girl.

Trax
I stand corrected. I had not read anything like that before. I "assumed" that you might be going off the pictures alone. My mistake.


Michael
I didn't have a problem with you stating that you could have done without the comments.

Micheal Robinson,

I'm perscribing you drink at least a cup less coffee per day. Lay off the caffiene!!!

Kim,

Great stuff!!!

Brett

Thanks for sharing Kpete, I had some more from his trophyroom in Cuba and one of his lions.

Great photos guys... really enjoyed them.
Sorry your thread got shit upon.
Andy

Bravo! Excellent post, interesting and surprising replies.

If I have given offense, KPete, I apologize. Perhaps I read more into this than was intended.

Too much received "wisdom" about Hemingway and his foibles is really nothing more than amateur, petty and agenda-driven psychobabble. I've read and heard it all, and it gets tiresome.

I have not seen some of these photos before, and the ones I have seen have not been reproduced at such high resolution. As I said, they are interesting, and I do appreciate that you took the time to post them.

The bottom color photo, next above, is of EH's office in Key West, over the garage/pool house and attached to the main house by a catwalk.

Any idea what the rifle is in the lion picture?
A takedown of some sort?

quote:

(which had paid over $15,000 for the photo rights and another $10,000 for a short article by EH)

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
If I have given offense, KPete, I apologize. Perhaps I read more into this than was intended.

Too much received "wisdom" about Hemingway and his foibles is really nothing more than amateur, petty and agenda-driven psychobabble. I've read and heard it all, and it gets tiresome.

I have not seen some of these photos before, and the ones I have seen have not been reproduced at such high resolution. As I said, they are interesting, and I do appreciate that you took the time to post them.

I appreciate your apology. Please know that I'm not offended so much as surprised by the ferocity of your accusations ("stupid", "presumptuous", "agenda-driven psycobabble" - really?). Obviously you have a lot of pent-up emotion tied to this man, and are quite protective, if not sensitive about him.

The fact is that I'm a life-long admirer of Hemingway, and he has influenced me in many ways. He certainly inspired me to visit and hunt Africa, among other things. That said, my admiration is tempered by the knowledge that his genius was leavened by serious personality flaws. Our admiration for anyone should never lack clear-eyed objectivity: Failing that, the results are worship, not admiration.

Look, I'm not the smartest guy in any room, and if I'm wrong about something I really want to be corrected. I've looked over my remarks and am still perplexed as to where you get 'facile and stupid disparagement'. And I'm genuinely interested in what I wrote that prompts you to say that I engaged in "amateur, petty and agenda-driven psychobabble". Could you help me to understand that better with some examples?

quote:

Originally posted by A.Dahlgren:
Thanks for sharing Kpete, I had some more from his trophyroom in Cuba and one of his lions.

Wow, we've got quite the Papa Hemingway Photo Album going here! Great photos and many thanks for adding them to the post.

Any others out there?

I have more but not African ones.

quote:

Originally posted by Sevens:

quote:

(which had paid over $15,000 for the photo rights and another $10,000 for a short article by EH)

My thoughts, too! By my calculation, that somewhere north of $275,000 in today's currency. If memory serves, the article was to be 3,000 words. EH could write that in four to five hours; not bad for a mornings work ...