Frederick W. Spiegel-Ernest Hemingway Papers, 1918-1973

Gift of Mrs. Frederick W. Spiegel, 1975.

The Frederick W. Spiegel-Ernest Hemingway Papers are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 5 folders at a time maximum, and items in each folder will be counted before and after delivery to the patron (Priority I).

The Frederick W. Spiegel-Ernest Hemingway Papers are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.

Frederick W. Spiegel-Ernest Hemingway Papers, The Newberry Library, Chicago.

Virginia H. Smith.

This inventory was created with the generous support of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this inventory do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Nobel Prize winning American author.

In 1918, after leaving his hometown of Oak Park, Illinois, followed by a short stint as a cub reporter at The Kansas City Star, eighteen-year-old Ernest Hemingway enlisted as a volunteer in the Red Cross ambulance service. The volunteers were sent to Italy, and on the voyage overseas, Hemingway shared a compartment with Chicagoan Frederick Spiegel. Stationed in Schio for the rest of the war, the two young men developed a friendship, and afterwards they occasionally communicated.. Hemingway, of course, became an internationally renowned writer and Spiegel found success in his family's business, but their shared youthful experiences resulted in a life-long effort to stay in touch.

Chicago businessman.

Born in Chicago in 1898, Frederick William Spiegel was the grandson of Joseph Spiegel, founder of a local home furnishing business. He was the son of Modie Joseph Spiegel, director of the successful, huge mail-order company, Spiegel's Home Furnishing Company. Frederick Spiegel worked for the family business, Spiegel, Inc., from 1920 until his retirement. He married Clara Gatzert in 1923 and had two children. They were divorced and he later married Ruth Hirsch in 1949.

Spiegel served in the American Red Cross ambulance service in 1918, receiving the Italian Croix de Guerra. In World War II, he was captain in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He died in Chicago in 1975.

Mainly correspondence, with a miscellany of material, all relating to Ernest Hemingway as well as the Red Cross ambulance service in World War I. There are three letters and four telegrams from Hemingway to Spiegel, and one short note from Hemingway to a Dr. Tannenbaum. Also a few photostats of letters Hemingway wrote to a bookseller identified as Mr. Romaine. The rest of the letters consists of correspondence between Spiegel and Hemingway scholars such as Carlos Baker and Charles A. Fenton, Hemingway's brother Leicester and wife Mary, magazine editors, and others regarding Hemingway. Also, clippings and World War I memorabilia, and a photograph and letter of Joseph Bernini.

Arranged alphabetically with correspondence preceding miscellaneous material..

• Names
  • American Red Cross.
  • Baker, Carlos, 1909-1987
  • Bernini, Joseph
  • Fenton, Charles A.
  • Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961
  • Hemingway, Leicester, 1915-1982
  • Hemingway, Mary Welsh, 1908-
  • Spiegel, Frederick W. (Frederick William), 1898-1975
• Subject
  • Chicago
  • Literature
  • Manuscripts, American
  • World War, 1914-1918 -- Italy