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April 14, 1953


Dear Mr. Cecil:

Do have my thanks for your most interesting letter of March 24, which I just received, and from which I am glad to learn you enjoyed reading my chapter on the Wallace Collection.

I am most obliged to you for calling my attention to the necessity of clearing the matter referring to the fire in the Pantechnicon Warehouse, and also to the Journal of Mr. Thomas Haikes, which I did not know about.

You asked me whether I would consider having a photostat made of the official inventory. I would gladly have this done provided that as you write no use of it will be made without consulting me, and this applies also the the appendix containing the names of some of the new owners of the works of art; this for the time being at least, for you will realize that in a great many instances I will have to ask permission to mention names and reproduce works of art, and you will understand that only the list (as regards names of buyers) as it will appear in my book can be quoted for these very reasons.

Will you please therefore consider the appendix as a strictly personal and confidential document.

Reverting anew to the photostating of the document, may I say that it consists of 105 legal size pages (counting recto and verso) and that in view of their very size the charge might be above the one dollar which is the average price we pay per sheet for our photostats.

In view of this I shall await your confirmation before proceeding.

Your offer of having prints made of some of the photographs of the articles in"The Connoisseur" and "The Sphere" is greatly appreciated, and I am wondering therefore whether I could ask you at my expense of course to have a glossy black and white print made of the two following reproductions:

Sphere - March 9, 1912, p. 279 - lower left corner of page. Captioned - "Rare furniture in the gallery in the rue Laffitte, Paris".

Connoisseur - April 1911, p. 221 "Mlle Duthé by Vestier".

However, should you not have the photograph of the lower left corner of "The Sphere" then to replace it could I have the one of "The Connoisseur" etc.

Connoisseur - August, 1910, p. 231 "View of end of gallery". (This only if photograph from Sphere is not available)