Ernest Hemingway Original Signed African Safari Photograph.

Striking original black and white photograph taken by Ernest Hemingway during his storied 1933–34 African safari, an expedition that provided the raw material for his celebrated nonfiction work Green Hills of Africa. Signed and copyrighted by the photographer, Ernest Hemingway, on the verso, “Copyright by Ernest Hemingway No. 5.” This evocative image, printed on glossy photographic stock, depicts a a powerful lion in tall grass beneath a sparse canopy of flat-topped acacia trees—evocative of the East African landscape Hemingway encountered during his months in Tanganyika. Organized with the assistance of the noted professional hunter Philip Percival, the safari during which the image was captured lasted from December 1933 to March 1934, and took Hemingway and his second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer, through Kenya and Tanganyika (modern-day Tanzania). One of East Africa’s most respected white hunters, Percival had previously served as a professional guide to Theodore Roosevelt during his famed 1909–1910 Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition. His expertise, deep familiarity with the East African landscape, and reputation for discretion and discipline made him a sought-after figure among elite Western sportsmen seeking not only trophies but also the mythic experience of African exploration. Hemingway’s journey was conceived not merely as a sporting adventure, but as a deliberate immersion into the terrain and traditions of colonial-era big-game hunting—an experience Hemingway believed essential to a fully engaged and masculine life. It was his first time on the African continent and it left a profound mark on his imagination. Over the course of several months, Hemingway hunted lion, rhinoceros, buffalo, kudu, and a range of other game, often keeping detailed journals and observations that would later form the basis for Green Hills of Africa (1935), a hybrid work of travel writing, memoir, and literary reflection. The book marked Hemingway’s first full-length nonfiction effort and remains a key text in understanding his evolving identity as both artist and adventurer. Beyond its literary implications, the safari deepened Hemingway’s public persona. He became an icon of rugged modern masculinity, embodying a fusion of the writer as both intellectual and physical actor in the world. This photograph—authentic, unposed, and personally documented—stands as a visual testament to that persona, carefully curated by Hemingway himself. His handwritten copyright mark suggests he intended these images to circulate with a measure of authorship and control, blending narrative and image into a coherent self-mythology. Provenance: From a private American collection; sold in 2025. Only one other example of this photograph bearing the “No. 5” inscription has been previously documented on the market. Double-matted and housed in a giltwood frame. The photograph measures approximately 5 x 7 inches; framed dimensions 12.5 x 14.5 inches. In fine condition. An exceptionally rare and his historically significant artifact from Ernest Hemingway’s legendary and formative 1933–34 African safari.