INTRODUCTION
PHASE ONE:
DOCUMENT PRESERVATION
PHASE TWO:
BUILDING PRESERVATION
OUR PEOPLE
LITERARY CAMPAIGN
TECHNICAL TEAM REPORT
OCTOBER 2005

Pictured left to right:
Part of Hemingway's private 9,000 volume library; Documents and books under tarps; The Old Man and the Sea was written at the Finca; Hemingway's writing room today.

Phase I: The Document Preservation Project

In 2002, the first phase of the Preservation Project was launched. Phase I focuses on the preservation and microfilming of the thousands of documents, letters, manuscripts, private photographs, and library, which includes extensive notes, letters, and memoranda written by Hemingway in the books' blank pages and margins. This invaluable collection has remained at Finca Vigía for the past 42 years, inaccessible to scholars outside Cuba.

The Hemingway collection in Cuba offers a unique opportunity for the study of Hemingway's life and work during some of his most productive years. Included in the collection are drafts of some of Hemingway's most famous works, including For Whom The Bells Tolls. The Finca Vigía Foundation's first task is to preserve the collection, some of which is in a severe state of deterioration. The 2,000 documents and 3,000 photographs have been stored in the basement of the Finca's guesthouse. Hemingway's 9,000 book library has remained on open shelves in Hemingway's house.

On November 11, 2002, the CNPC and the Social Science Research Council of New York entered into an Agreement to preserve and protect the documents and books at Finca Vigía. President Fidel Castro also signed the Preservation Agreement at a ceremony at Finca Vigía, during which he spoke about the strong relationship between Hemingway and Cuba, and the personal influence that Hemingway's writings had on him. With an initial grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, the first phase of the Hemingway Preservation Project is well under way.

Over $250,000 has been raised for the document and photograph preservation and conservation to date, thanks in part to grants from the Rockefeller and Ford Foundations, as well as the generosity of individuals. Copies of the Hemingway documents and photographs will be sent to the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston. The Library is actively involved in the document conservation and preservation phase of the project, along with the Social Science Research Council.