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5 East 51st. St.,
New York, New York.
Feb 17th'39.

Dear César:

As I cabled you today, Hans has sold to Len Hanna the "Race Course" pastel for $22,000., and also the "Pink Dancers" for $12,000.

In the most friendly spirit I must tell you that we have to come to a very definite understanding inside the firm as to the question of prices. While we are fighting this winter and I finally convinced you to bring down the price of the "Race Course" from $35,000., to $28,000., and now, while I was using these elements with Hans, he told me that you had quoted Len H. $24,000. for the "Race Course". Also while we had a definite understanding with Durand-Ruel that the asking price for the "Pink Dancers" would be $15,000., you had quoted Len H. $12,500., so that when Hans came to me last night with an offer of $32,000.,from Len H., on a basic figure of $36,000. - which was after all a very decent offer on Len h.'s part - Hans almost had a fit when I told him that at that figure the deal could not go through.

Finally he obtained $34,000.

Now I don't understand you having quoted the above prices, as you are always after me for accepting low offers - and furthermore, when you know perfectly well, after all the experiences we have had, that it makes no sense to start reducing figures when we know that whatever price we mention we will be faced with a counter propostition.

On the other hand you will realize in how extremely delicate a situation you have put me, as it was with so much reluctance on your part that we came down to $28,000., when you should have remembered that a few months before you yourself had quoted $24,000.  No fiche, of course, with those prices was to be found anywhere.

I realize that ay principle of a rigid discipline for set asking prices, is absolutely indispensable, as otherwise, cooperation in a firm like our's is just a mere word.

M. César de Hauke.
Paris.