April 2019 Auction Ends Thursday, April 25th, 5pm Pacific
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/25/2019
Hunter S. Thompson letter signed from San Juan, Puerto Rico, just three days after arriving there in January 1960. Dated ''Thursday'' (7 January), Thompson writes an unusually contented and optimistic letter about the locale, and urges his friend Paul Semonin to visit him. Letter reads in part, ''My man, I think the time has come to sound the horns of joy. At present, I'm engaged in writing a story called 'The Sports Capital of the Caribbean.' I sit by my window, wearing bermudas, a fan at my back, a glass of rum at my right hand, exotic women passing in the street, the Atlantic Ocean a mile to my left, the sun hot above my head, and tremendous laughter in my stomach when I think of the snow-clogged dung-tunnels of New York...if nothing happens to foul the water, I think I've come upon the good life...
By February 1, I should either be fired or solidly entrenched...this is really the doorstep to Valhalla. I have a feeling that Valhalla itself is a little further south (too much Americanization here), but for the time being, I can't think of any place I'd rather be...Once I get a beach house and a scooter, heaven will be within my grasp...Next week I will investigate rumor that govt. has appropriated land for an art colony on a mountain above Luquilo [sic] Beach...Lot free, provided you build something on it...''
Thompson then tells Semonin to ''strike reference to Miss [Sandy] Conklin (my last note) from your record. It was made purely in jest and I shall flog you severely if it ever gets back to me...'' In that previous letter, Thompson tells his friend that he wanted to bed Conklin, the woman who would ultimately become Thompson's wife. He finishes the letter, ''Say hello to the snow for me, and see you soon. Cheerio, [signed] HST''. Two page letter on a single sheet measures 8.5'' x 11''. Rusted paperclip has torn the paper surrounding it, otherwise very good condition.
Hunter S. Thompson Letter Signed ''HST'', One of His First From South America in 1960 -- ''...Once I get a beach house and a scooter, heaven will be within my grasp...''
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