Recently we visited the first home and birthplace of Ernest Hemingway in Oak Park, IL. The kitchen of the home is of interest to collectors of antique and vintage kitchen decor and paraphenalia. The Hemingway kitchen was run by live in domestic staff and was state of the art at the turn of the century. Ernest Hemingway was born in the house in 1899 and lived there for the first six years of his life until they moved to another house nearby as the family grew larger. The kitchen is restored to how it would have looked during the time Ernest lived here.
The wood floor is original, they had a plumbed sink and one of the first telephones in the area at the time, the kitchen chairs are original from their Wisconsin house but otherwise the kitchen items are mostly vintage replacements that give a good idea of how it would have looked at the time. There is a back staircase the maids used where they came down early in the morning to prepare the breakfast. Mrs Hemingway who was cultured and artistic and had trained as an opera singer, did not cook meals. She was a highly regarded music teacher and made a substantial income from giving lessons in the house, often bringing in more income than her husband who was a doctor. Mr Hemingway on the other hand, occasionally did cook game that he brought back from hunting and fishing trips.
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