- Collection Overview
- Collection Description & Creator Information
- Access & Use
- Collection History
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Martha Gellhorn Letters to George "Sandy" Gellhorn, 1968-1974
Collection Overview
Collection Description & Creator Information
- Scope and Contents
Consists primarily of letters from Martha Gellhorn to her adopted son George "Sandy" Gellhorn in the late 1960s and early 1970s. There are approximately fifty letters totaling about 160 pages; they are primarily typed, though some are handwritten on hotel stationary. Written from St. Louis, Missouri; Frankfurt, Germany; London, England; and Naivasha and Mombasa, Kenya, Gellhorn's letters are intimate, detailed, and often lengthy. Among their topics are Gellhorn's memories of visiting concentration camps, progress and roadblocks in her writing, her relationship with ex-husband Ernest Hemingway and other relatives, as well as her impressions of current events, including the Vietnam War and related protest movements, the 1968 presidential election, and the Apollo 11 moon landing. Gellhorn also frequently expresses concern over Sandy's lifestyle and offers advice and warnings about love, finding an occupation, and drug culture. A thirty-seven-page sequence of letters written over a month-long period in autumn of 1969, which Gellhorn wrote as a journal of her time in Kenya, contains a thorough narration of her life in Naivasha, as well as reflections on her ex-husband Ernest Hemingway.
- Arrangement
Arranged in order of accession.
Collection History
- Acquisition:
AM 2017-76
- Appraisal
No materials were separated during 2016-2017 processing.
- Processing Information
This collection was processed by Kelly Bolding in September 2016. Finding aid written by Kelly Bolding in September 2016. Finding aid updated by Kelly Bolding in January 2017.
Access & Use
- Conditions Governing Access
Open for research.
- Conditions Governing Use
Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
- Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
- Credit this material:
Martha Gellhorn Letters to George "Sandy" Gellhorn; Princeton University Library Collection of Martha Gellhorn Materials, C1531, Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
- Location:
-
Firestone LibraryOne Washington RoadPrinceton, NJ 08544, USA
- Storage Note:
- Firestone Library (mss): Box B-000788
