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RONALD FREYBERGER
4445 POST ROAD
NEW YORK, N.Y. 10471

November 26, 1970

Mr. Germain Seligman
5 East 57 Street
New York, N.Y. 10022

Dear Mr. Seligman, 

Thank you ever so much for the photograph of one of your Duplessis bronzes. I know that it will come in very handy for my work on this artist. 

Thank you too for having communicated to me the Connaissance des Arts reference to the Parma furniture. I appreciate references such as these, for, even if I may already know them, as I did in this instance, I don't always, and I am forever on the lookout for new bibliographical material. 

If I may be permitted to digress for a moment, I should like to point out that the Parma furniture is particularly important for the study of Jean Pierre Latz and of Jacques Caffieri some of whose most important and characteristic work is or was to be found in this collection. One of the most interesting problems regarding these works of art is the question of exactly how some of them managed to escape the clutches of the Italian authorities and find their way to countries such as England and the United States by way of France. The Wallace Collection and the Metropolitan Museum of Art possess major examples of French decorative art from this source, and, last year, a pair of chenets from Parma attributable to Jacques Caffiere was sold at Christie's for a very low price. In 1961, the Countes Sala Sale at Parke-Bernet included a pair of cabinets from Parma which are attributable to Latz and which, according to the calalogue, came, "From Seligmann, Paris." Among other things, these pieces of furniture bear the stamp of the Empress Marie Louise, who, of course, was Duchess of Parma in the nineteenth century. 

If you are interested in seeing the illustrating in this catalogue, and if you do not possess a copy of it, I can gladly bring down my copy for you to peruse. It would be no trouble at all. It would be no trouble at all to bring down any copy of Connaissance des Arts, should you ever need one for any reason. I have a complete run of this periodical which I find very useful, and, I gather from what you said earlier today that you do not. 

I hope that you and Mrs. Seligman are enjoying your Thanksgiving. 
With many thanks and best regards, I remain

Yours sincerely,
Ronald Freyberger