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4 Via Dante Da Castiglione,
Florence, Itlay.

Used 
From Wm Couper
Sculptor

Florence Sept, 15th 1893

My dear Duveneck,

At last I am able to give you some satisfactory news regarding your work  My man went to Seravezza and found a very fine block of second class statuary marble which I think you will be just as well pleased with as though it was 1st  It has been in the studio since the 5th and the work was commenced immediately. So far the face and hands have been roughly blocked and they are free from marks or holes. The only thing that does not come up to full expectation, is, owing to the straight edges of the under part of the base, there is a place that was knocked out in handling so large a block that will cause you to lose 3 centimeter in the hight of the entire base, see the tracing here enclosed. I do not however 

think this will make much difference for if you want it to stand exactly a certain hight you can all three cent. on the base that goes under the marble. 

The enclosed bills I have paid
Block of Marble Frs 600-
Freight to Railroad 79.30
Cartage from station out to studio 100.-
To man for putting block in studio  8.-

Frs 787.30

Hold on to these bills amd bring them back with you when you come to Florence for one can never tell if they will be wanted. Your block is a very large one. It only took five strong horses to get it here and they would not pull it quite up to the gate. 

This afternoon I looked carefully through each one of the boxes, taking all of the straw and shavings out hoping to find the ring you spoke of, but in vain, the packer must have lost it some other way, for certainly it is not in any of the five cases here. I am very sorry not to have been successful.

We have been in Florence all the summer