Ernest Hemingway's Trout Flies

This collection of 12 trout flies were gifted to Hemingway by Charles Ritz (yes, Ritz as in the hotel), who was a contemporary expert on fishing, and author of one of the most renowned titles on fly fishing direction, "A Fly Fisher's Life." 

Hemingway used to refer to Ritz as "an iconoclast who never hesitates to destroy an idol in order to deal only with true and important facts." 

These shadowbox is part of total of 250 trout flies that belonged to the great American author, originally gifted to him in 1951 by Charles Ritz. They were then passed to Jack Hemingway, who left them to his close friend, fellow angler and Parisian collector Pierre Affre (pictured) in 1995. In addition to the flies, proof of their historical journey are documented in a letter written to Affre by Jack Hemingway in October of 1995.