It seems everyone I am showing Florida Keys homes for sale to somehow brings up Jimmy Buffett or Ernest Hemingway. Since I like the Hemingway legacy and, with Jimmy Buffett, I'll just say I liked the Hemingway legacy. We seem to see something related to Ernest Hemingway in every Key West house I show. Very rarely do we see anything about any of his wives.
Behind
every great man, there is an equally great and probably more stylish woman. For
author Ernest Hemingway, this was certainly true. While Hemingway penned all
but his first two and last two novels at his Key West home, it was his second
wife, Pauline Pfeiffer, who made some of the most charming contributions to
their abode’s interiors and important edits to his writing.
Introducing the second
Mrs. Hemingway
Pauline was born in Iowa to a wealthy family who later bought up large tracks of land in Arkansas. She graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and in 1925, was working as a fashion editor for Vogue in Paris when she met writer, Ernest Hemingway. He too was living in Paris with his first wife and baby boy, while spending time in the company of other creatives such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Cole Porter and Ezra Pound. The pair soon engaged in an affair, and finally, Hemingway divorced his first wife and married Pauline.
Mr
& Mrs Hemingway relocated from Paris to Key West and took up residence in
the Spanish Colonial-style home on Whitehead Street which had been constructed
by a marine architect and salvage wrecker in 1851. While today we know it as
“Hemingway’s Home in Key West”, the house was actually a wedding gift from
Pauline’s wealthy Uncle Gus!
Pauline decorated their new home with her exquisite chandelier collection that encompassed a variety of styles and origins, from a jade-hued Tiffany Shade purchased in New York, to the glassy fringe of a Moorish fitting out of Spain.
The Hemingway’s –
travellers and collectors
Hemingway
contributed African souvenirs such as tribal masks and hunting trophies
collected throughout his safaris to the Key West home furnishings. An
assortment of the couple’s antiques include an ornate bedhead, said to be the
repurposed gate of a Spanish monastery, and a cabinet set with decorative tiles
driven from Mexico in the back of Ernest’s Ford Roadster.
Amongst
Ernest’s many outdoor pursuits, he was an avid amateur boxer. He saw fit to
place a boxing ring in the sub-tropical garden surrounding his Key West home.
Pauline didn’t appreciate her ringside seat or the kind of visitors the arena
attracted. Her ultimate revenge was to replace the ring with one of the first
in-ground pools in the Keys at the cost of $20k, an extraordinarily lavish
figure for 1938.
Another addition Ernest made to his garden was permanently borrowed from his favourite Key West bar–Sloppy Joe’s. Ernest’s work routine was to rise early and write through the quieter, cooler morning hours followed by fishing or a few alcoholic beverages at the bar. A urinal belonging to Sloppy Joe’s was transferred to the Whitehead Street mansion for use as a drinking fountain by Ernest’s many cats. Pauline disguised the repurposed water feature as best she could with decorative tiles.
Pauline, the editor
In
support of Ernest’s writing, Pauline busied herself with minimising
distractions and typing out his pencil-written manuscripts. Since very early in
their relationship, she had taken a keen interest in his work, providing
constructive critiques. Even after their divorce Ernest publically credited
Pauline as his best editor. Hemingway’s time in Key West with Pauline was one
of his most prolific and resulted in some of his most acclaimed novels—hardly a
coincidence.
Divorce and death
The couple divorced in
1940 after Hemingway met his third wife. Pauline remained a resident of the Key
West home and opened the Carolina Shop, selling high-end fabrics and upholstery
like the chenille b bedspread
in the master bedroom of the home museum. Sadly, while visiting her sister in
Hollywood, Pauline passed away suddenly from a brain aneurysm aged 55.
Though Ernest gave kudos to his second wife for her editorial contributions to his work, she has the potential to go unrecognised at her unmarked Hollywood grave. Very little has been written about Pfeiffer, though you only need see a picture of the socialite, or visit her former home to gain a sense of her impeccable taste. “Pfeiffer” may not be a drawcard (unless your first name is Michelle), but there is no doubt Pauline left an indelible mark on the Whitehead Street abode and the literary legacy that endures under the Hemingway name.
Visiting Hemingway’s Home
in Key West
You
don’t need to have read a single book or poem to enjoy a visit to Hemingway’s
home in Key West. Certainly, take the thirty-minute guided tour to get the most
out of the experience. There are so many stories written into the details of
the beautiful home and gardens which have been registered as both a National
Historic Landmark and a Literary Landmark.
Address: 907
Whitehead Street, Key West
Opening Hours: 9am-5pm,
365 days a year.
I am
very often asked by people looking to buy a home in Key West or any type of
Florida Keys Real Estate what are the "Must See's" while they are in
town. Naturally I tell them about many Florida Keys homes for sale that are
"Must See's" but then always suggest the Hemingway House. The more you look around the more you'll see some of each of the Mrs. Hemmingway's' taste in the house. Check it
out. You'll be glad you did.
Gary
