"Plane Crashed Twice"... Letter Detailing Hemingway's Survival Sold for 300 Million Won
Plane Crashes into Jungle During Africa Trip with Wife
Second Plane Catches Fire and Explodes After Crash Following Rescue
A letter from American novelist Ernest Hemingway (1899?1961) was sold at auction for about 300 million won.
According to the New York Times (NYT) and others on the 5th (local time), Hemingway's letter was sold for $237,055 (about 300 million won) at Nate Sanders Auctions in the United States.
The auction, which began on the 31st of last month, started the bidding for the letter at $19,250, but after 12 bids, it was sold for more than 10 times that amount.
The letter contained an account of Hemingway's two consecutive plane crashes in Africa in 1954.
At the time of the accidents, Hemingway was traveling through East Africa, including Congo, Kenya, and Rwanda, with his fourth wife, Mary Welsh Hemingway. On one occasion, the small plane carrying the couple got caught in power lines and crashed into the jungle along the Nile River, home to crocodiles.
At that time, the media even reported that Hemingway had died in the plane crash. Fortunately, the Hemingways were rescued from the jungle after one day and boarded a second plane.
However, this second plane caught fire immediately after takeoff and crashed, exploding upon impact. The Hemingways survived but sustained serious injuries.
The letter sold at this auction contains a dramatic account of these experiences and Hemingway's subsequent daily life. While staying at a hotel in Venice, Italy, that year, Hemingway wrote about his condition on four sheets of stationery and sent the letter to his lawyer, Alfred Rice.
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In the letter, Hemingway explained, "My right kidney was ruptured, and my liver and spleen were also injured," adding, "My right arm suffered third-degree burns, causing spasms in the bones, so I cannot write much." He further expressed his pain, saying, "My fingers were burned, and my left hand also suffered third-degree burns, so I cannot type."
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