The Rotonde

Modigliani, Picasso, And Andre Salmon

Picasso And His Mistress Paquerette












In March, 1922, Hemingway wrote an article for the Toronto Daily Star called "American Bohemians in Paris." It was a scathing story about "the scum of Greenwich Village, New York" settling in that section of Paris adjacent to the Cafe Rotonde at the corner of the Boulevard Montparnasse, and the Boulevard Raspail.
"New scum rose to replace the old scum," making the Rotonde the leading Latin Quarter show place for tourists in search of atmosphere. The patrons dressed in Bohemian attire. He likened it to the birdhouse at the zoo. He said that you could find anything that you were looking for at the Rotonde except a serious artist. Serious artists resent and loathe the Rotonde, he said. Serious artists were replaced by people pretending to be artists.
The scum were there because there were 12 francs to the dollar. If that changed for the worse, the scum would all return to New York.
He made fun of the young men attending to large, rich women who picked up the tab, while he too was living on an older woman's income - Hadley's.
Hemingway was new to Paris and considered himself a serious writer, one that worked at his craft. In a year or so, he too would be sitting in the cafes, dressed like the regulars at the Rotonde, nursing his drink, and conspiculously writing. The cafes were places where Hemingway could meet American friends to gossip, borrow money, and keep abreast of local news.
As a boy in Oak Park, Illinois, Hemingway wanted to be an explorer. His hero was Theodore Roosevelt and he wasn't completely comfortable with the image of a writer, so he fished, skied, hiked, sledded, boxed, went to bullfights, and bicycle races. He wanted his physical image to stand out from the rest of the literary crowd. He didn't want to look like James Joyce or Ezra Pound.

In Germany 1922

In Schwarzwald


Chink Dorman-Smith



Black Forest



Gasthaus Rossele


Paris was very hot and humid in the Summer of 1922.
In August, Ernest got a passport for himself and Hadley for travel to Germany. They were going to go on a hiking tour and fishing trip in the Black Forest region where they hoped that it would be cooler.
They invited Bill Bird and his wife Sally, and Lewis Galantiere and his fiance, Dorothy Butler to come along.
The dollar was being exchanged at 605 marks to a dollar, so Ernest was counting on a vacation that wouldn't break the household funds. He was also hoping to get some material for a story that he could sell to The Star.
Earnest and Hadley decided to fly from Paris to Strasbourg to save eight hours of travelling by train. Hadley was eager for the adventure of her first flight and took the two and a half hour flight in such stride that she fell asleep before the landing.
The six hikers met in Strasbourg on August 3rd and crossed into Germany. They headed to Triberg to fish, but they were not pleased with the crowds of Germans - who were not pleased with them. Ernest thought the Germans to be loud, rude, and rough with women. They managed to get some fishing in away from the crowds of German hikers. Hadley was becoming quite skilled at catching trout.
One day near Oberprechtal the thirsty and hungry hikers stopped at an inn for rooms and food. The innkeeper refused to serve them. He was still bitter towards foreigners because Germany had lost the war. They hiked an additional four miles of "hot, white road" until they came upon the Gasthaus Rossele or Inn of the Pony. It seems that the pony is the favorite symbol of Black Forest inn keepers. Here they were given rooms and they were served food and beer.
By mid-August, the Birds, Galantiere and Dorothy Butler were heading back to Paris. Ernest and Hadley continued alone down the Rhine to Coblenz. There they met Eric "Chink" Dorman-Smith, a friend of Ernest's since 1918 when they met in Italy. (He would become the godfather of the Hemingway's first child. Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas were the joint godmothers.)
Hemingway managed to get three stories forThe Toronto Daily Star: "German Inn-Keepers," "A Paris-To-Strasbourg Flight," and "German Inflation."
The Hemingways returned to Paris by train on August 31st.

Arriving

Ernest and Hadley sailed for Paris on December 8, 1921. They left from New York on the steamship Leopoldina, an old French Line vessel. It would be a ten day voyage to Europe.
Ernest suffered from a bit of seasickness, but was soon involved in the social activities on the boat and enjoying his adventure. It was his third sea voyage. He was impressed that this ship had elevators and a swimming pool and everyone spoke with an English accent.
Hadley learned how attractive Ernest was to other women on the voyage. She hated it, but accepted it, knowing Ernest's love for her. She also was getting her fair share of admirers on board. The Leopoldina had pianos on every deck, and hadley played for hours on end. Three Argentinians "are in love with her" Ernest wrote home.
When he discovered that a French woman and her child had been deserted by her husband, Ernest decided to organize a exhibition boxing match to benefit the woman.
Fellow passenger and boxer, Henry Cuddy, agreed to a three round match. Hadley sat in Ernest's corner and wiped his face with a towel between rounds.
Ernest would later brag that he won the match, but it was most likely a draw.
The Leoploldina made a four-hour stop in Vigo, Spain where Ernest watched the giant tuna jumping out of the water in the bay. He was fascinated by the thought of what a fight a fish of that size and strength would put up; what stamina it would take to land it.
The Hemingways arrived in Le Havre on December 22nd, and took a train to Paris.

Paris Art

Four paintings by Pissarro.
The blog needs a little color every now and then to compliment the vintage black and white photos. If you are familiar with the blog, you know that I throw in some paintings and poster art on occasion to add a splash of color.
The paintings are: "The Boieldieu Bridge At Rouen In Damp Weather", "Boulevard Mountmarte In Winter", "The Siein And The Lourve", "Boulevard Mountmarte At Night."
From Wikipedia:

Camille Pissarro (10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born in the Virgin Islands, where his father was of Portuguese Jewish descent and his mother was native Creole.[1] He studied in Paris and London, becoming a permanent resident of France. His importance resides in his contributions to both Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, as he was the only artist to exhibit in both forms. Pissarro studied from great forerunners, including Courbet and Corot. He later studied and worked alongside Georges Seurat and Paul Signac when he took on the Neo-Impressionist style at the age of 54.

Cafe Lipp

Léonard Lipp opened his brasserie in the 1870's after fleeing Alsace during the Franco-Prussian War. The menu is typical of that region including beer, sausage, and sauerkraut. (A brasserie serves alcohol and food.) It stayed in the family until 1920 when Marcellin Cazas bought it. (In 1958, Cazas was given the Legion of Honor for running the best literary salon in Paris.)
Hemingway liked the Lipp for it's oysters and wine and it was a good place to write.
After "The Sun Also Rises" was published, Hemingway was told that some of his friends were out to get him since they thought they were recognizable characters in the novel. Hemingway responded that he would be at the Lipp between two and four every day if anyone wanted to confront him. No one did.

More Man Ray

Man Ray was born, Emmanuel Radnitzky (August 27, 1890–November 18, 1976) in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  He spent most of his career in Paris. He quickly became a prominent member of the art colony there. He was friends with many of the avant garde. The top photo is of painter Joan Miro, then photos of Pablo Picasso, a photo of Man Ray's long-time lover, Kiki of  Montparnasse, Salvador Dali and Man Ray, and a  photo by Man Ray of an unidentified man.

(Hemingway introduced Kiki to Man Ray in 1921.)

                                                                                                                                                                                   

Three Shots of Hemingway by Man Ray

These three photos of Hemingway are from 1923, taken in Paris by Man Ray, whose self-portrait is at the top.
Judging by the tie, shirt, and sweater that Ernest is wearing in the three shots, I think that it can safely be assumed that all of the photos were taken in that one session.
Man Ray's self-portrait is from 1924.

Some More Paris Cafe Scenes

Some shots of the sidewalk cafes - and inhabitants - that were such an elemental part of Hemingway's life in the Paris years.
The first photo, and the last two are by Brassai.

Bloomsday

In honor of "Bloomsday" - June 16th. The day when James Joyce's  Leopold Bloom roams Dublin in "Ulysses."

Some Holiday Color

When Ernest and Hadley first arrived in Paris, they had Christmas dinner at The Cafe de la Paix, a cafe on the Right Bank. When the bill came, they realized that they didn't have enough money to pay the bill. While Hadley waited, Ernest ran the several miles back to their apartment to get the money. Hemingway mentions the cafe in The Sun also Rises and My Old Man.
Happy Holidays, everyone, from Hemingway's Paris.

Pamplona

July 7th marks the beginning of the "running of the bulls" in Pamplona, Northern Spain, at the Festival of San Fermin. Young men have been participating in this ceremony since the 1600's, but Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises" published in 1926, made it the event that it is today.
Gertrude Stein recommended to Hemingway that he take a vacation there to help him "clear his head" and concentrate on the business of writing a novel.
These photos are from 1925, one year before he finished his novel.
Top photo: Hemingway on the left, Harold Loeb, Lady Duff Twysden, Hadley, Don Stewart and Pat Guthrie.
(If you click on the bottom photo, you will see Ernest (wearing white pants) just in front of the bull as he participates in "the amateurs.")

Two Hemingway Photos

These two photos of Ernest are new to me. They were brought to my attention by a writer friend and Hemingway fan, Joe Grant.
Joe's best guess is that they are publicity shots for "The Sun Also Rises." I believe that they were taken by Man Ray.
Here is some biographical information on Joe:
"My short stories have been published in 140 literary reviews and e-zines, such as Byline, New Authors Journal, Underground Voices, Nite-Writer's International Literary Arts Journal, Howling Moon Press, Hack Writers, New Online Review, Literary Tonic, six sentences, NexGenPulp, three UK literary reviews, Bottom of the World and Cupboard Gloom and three most recently in Darkest Before Dawn, strangeroad and a story in the anthology of horror, Northern Haunts, (available at Barnes & Noble, Target and on Amazon). I have been nominated for the Million Writers Award. I have won “Story of the Month” at Bartleby-Snopes Literary Review and Story of the Month at 6 Sentences. I have completed my first novel. I currently reside in Los Angeles. NOTE: Six stories of mine have been featured in 6S Volume 1, a collection of short stories by various writers available at Amazon and 6S Volume II out now. I have also been nominated for a South Stories Literary Award."