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Hot Spring, Va., Oct. 23rd, 1899.

Mr. Alfred H Granger,
Chairman, Exhibition Committee, The Caxton Club,
Chicago, Ill.

Dear Sir:-
Your courteous letter of the 19th instant reached me here this morning, and I hasten to say in reply that it would afford me much pleasure indeed to loan for your forthcoming exhibition such of the etchings, dry-points and lithographs by Whistler in my possesion (excluding the Hayden collection) as you may require. I am to-day led to exclude the Hayden collection because before consenting to loan it I would like to know more fully your plans for exhibiting and protecting the prints from dust and smoke; the nature of the catalogue you intend to issue, etc. The prints in the Hayden collection are amounted upon cardboard of uniform size. My lighographs and many of my etchings and dry-points are unmounted. A few of the latter are attached to mounts, which, while of irregular form, I value for the notations they bear. Of course those could be detached, if necessary, and other cardboard substituted for exhibition purposes. Is it the intention of your Club to issue a catalogue describing only the prints you intend to exhibit, or is it your wish to publish a complete catalogue of Mr. Whistler's etched work to date? A publication of the latter kind would be of much importance, and reflect great credit upon the Caxton Club, but you will not I am sure misunderstand me when I say that I do not see how the information can be compiled without the writer having full access to the several [[obscured]] private collections owned to this country. I would judge from [[obscured]] shown me by Mr. [[obscured]] of London, that he could [[obscured]] in connection with the catalogue. As [[obscured]] ask you may [[obscured]] loaning you whatever, I have [[obscured]] a [[obscured]]'s [[obscured]] work, outside of the Hayden collection, and after fuller information and consideration I will decide about letting you have the Hayden collection also.
Yours very truly,

P.S. If you would care to exhibit them I will carefully loan the original copper plates of the James set

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The bottom of this page is covered and the final few lines are too obscure to read. ---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-09-26 13:27:50 Do not mark as complete if more than one [[?]]. Obscured can be marked as such.