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5 East 57th. St.
New York 22, N.Y.

December 15th., 1948

Dear F.Gl:

You must be surprised indeed not to have heard from me since I received your ^good letter of November 23rd.  I feel quite ashamed about it but a great deal could account for this silence.

However, as Ethlyne and I are leaving tomorrow - I have not felt very well for the past couple of weeks - I do want to send you a few lines now.

BOOKS TO MME. WOLF: I have sent her my Seurat and my Le Fresnaye for the Louvre and another copy of each for herself.

MARBLE BAS-RELIEF: There is really nothing more that I can tell you about it for the time being, or at least until I have an opportunity of seeing it.

DAVRAY: When he left weeks ago, he told me he would write at length from Los Angeles in connection with certain questions he would like me to take care of for his account in New York, but surmise he has been too busy to do so.

GUERIN: All I can do is repeat what I have heard, namely that there are three heirs, one girl and two brothers. One brother by the way lives here. The other one, from what I understand lived in the same house as his father. As to the girl, without asking too pertinent a question i could not find out whether she is married or single. It would seem to me that if you wish to tâter le terrain you could write to the son saying that you remembered seeing in his father's apartment the pieces of furniture I wrote you about previously, and whether you could seemhim in connection therewith. Whether you have been there or not really plays no role as the son, if he knows us by name, certainly does not know us in person.

ITALIAN BRONZES AND DR. P: As I wrote you we had a very definite agreement with him in connection with Italian sculpture, and even about certain Baroque paintings; for instance, the pair of Piazetta portraits. Though of course I cannot remember definitely, I believe we agreed, Georges and I, to give him 25% (twenty-five percent) of the profits. I am surprised when you say that you do not have any small Italian bronzes, as unless I am the victim of my imagination I would say, among others, I saw a "Cupid" by Roccatagliata; another one, a girl with flowing xxx hair, sort of Fortune, by Maffeo Olivieri, and a small inkstand,which all used to belong to the old Swiss Corporation, and which you have now in your inventory; also a Marius Aurelius.

The large statue of BANDINUS does not come under that heading, as it was in the firm long before any of these arrangements were made, nor the bas-relief by Mantegazza, should it ever turn up again.
This man is, as I wrote you, in such straits that any gesture you would have towards him I know would be much appreciated.

REGENCE SET OF FURNITURE: Georges and I have been looking high and low but we do not seem to be able to think of any, unless we were to go to French & Co. or Duveen, which I think offhand makes little sense.

MY FLEMISH TAPESTRY: You write to me that you would like to keep this tapestry and put it back on the stairway at rue de Constantine. I can assure you that I would be delightO ed to let you have it with this purpose in mind. However, I am truly unable to mention any price, and I would like you to make a suggestion of some work of art that you would turn over to me in exchange. I have lost so much in all this looting for which someday I may get a few francs, which by then will have been so very reduced

t.s.v.p.

[[margin]]AIR MAIL 3P

Transcription Notes:
SEE 6th paragraph of letter starting "GUERIN" 7th line there is a typo "seemhim". See 10th paragraph starting "MY FLEMISH" end of 2nd line there is a typo "delightO" which probably was meant to be a hyphen to the next line.