Viewing page 75 of 144

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

April 23rd, 1956

Dear Mr. Cecil,

My belated acknowledgement of your nice note of March 14th, is due to the fact that the April issue of the "Burlington Magasine [[Magazine]]" only arrived a couple of days ago - it is unfortunate that such interesting publications should take so long to reach us here.

I was greatly impressed by your article on the "Hartford-Vallace Collection of Tapestries" and the considerable amount of data you have been able to gather. Indeed I do appreciate the many courtesy references to my father, my firm, and myself, and let me tell you anew that it is always a pleasure to cooperate with you on any of these puzzling and fascinating researches.

Were you not to mind, I would like to call your attention to probably just a misprint in connection with the set of BOUCHER tapestries now in the Philadelphia Museum, for they were sold directly by my father to Mrs. Hamilton Rice who was then still Mrs. George Widener, and this just before the outbreak of World War I. Furthermore, and this strictly "entre-nous" at that particular time the strained relationship which existed between my father and Messrs. Duveen, would not have allowed such a transaction. If at some later date you had an opportunity of correcting this statement I would be obliged to you, but do not have this on your mind, as the errors are all too frequent to be given any particular importance.

Having just read yesterday, Sunday, your article I have had no time to look up the previous one you wrote, but I feel certain that you already know that one of the sets of tapestry furniture was acquired by Count Moise de Camondo, and can be seen now in the Nissin de Camondo Museum, and the other important set of tapestry furniture after CASANOVA cartoons became the property of Alfred Lowenstein of Brussels - what became of the latter, I do not know.

Now, reverting anew to the matter of tapestries, Mrs. Seligman, who as you know has given much of her time to research work in connection with my book, found certain data which I am appending to my letter. As they were just jotted down by her in a hasty way, it may be safer for you to check on the references, before making a definite enter in your records.

(over)