Bruce, Toby

Otto "Toby" Bruce was a long-time friend, assistant, carpenter, handyman, and driver of Ernest Hemingway in Key West, Florida. At the request of Mary Hemingway, Toby acted as pallbearer at Ernest Hemingway's funeral. Toby and his wife Betty retained these materials, collected primarily from Sloppy Joe's Bar, with the permission of Mary Hemingway following Ernest Hemingway's death in 1961. Following Betty's death in 1994, their son Benjamin Curry "Dink" Bruce inherited the collection, and, along with his sister, Linda, began to research, protect, and preserve the collection. Dink Bruce passed away in September 2020.