Correspondence (incoming): Couper, William, 1890-1891

Letter from Mr. Couper from Italy July 17th 90 answered July 27th 90 from Berlin -

4 VIA DANTE DA CASTIGLIONE FLORENCE, ITALY

Florence July 17th 1890

Dear Mrs. Stanford

This morning I have the honor of receiving your esteemed letter of the 12th inst. and beg to state, I hold myself in readiness to serve you to the best of my ability _ The photographs can be sent to the above address at your pleasure as I will be unable to leave Florence this summer on account of some work I have in hand for Mr. Edw F. Searles . a neighbor of yours in San Francisco.

Believe [?] dear madam

Yours most respectfully William Couper

4 VIA DANTE DA CASTIGLIONE, FLORENCE, ITALY.

My dear Mrs. Stanford: Please accept my kindest thanks for your most highly esteemed letter of the 9th inst. and the order therein contained for the Sphinxes which I shall proceed at once to execute with as little delay as possible, and to the best of my ability.

Just at present it would be difficult to say exactly when the figures will be finished and arrive in California, but I will promise to advise you in time, so that buttresses can be made ready for them. I thank you also for sending Mr. Austin's address as it is necessary to have an exact measure that cannot be gotten from the drawing very well

Your very kind remarks regarding your sons portrait are highly gratifying, and amply compensate me for all I went through when I saw you and the Governor in the most trying moments of your afflication, and I felt then as I feel now, if in any way I can give comfort by replacing as near as possible the lost one, then my life is worth while; and if through my efforts your sorrows have been in the least eased, I thank God for it. Having the material to make a statue of your son, (excepting the exact height) there is no reason why I could not give you an entirely satisfactory portrait, and if I should be selected for the work, certainly nothing would be left undone to make it all you could desire.

When you have fully determined about the family group, I would

Dear Mrs Stanford As there were several measures of the tomb I wanted, in order to make any work in good proportion, I wrote to Mr. Austin and received his kind and prompt reply this P.M. which enables me to communce the sphinxes at once. In the meantime I have made a small one to govern me in the general porportions and will here enclose a couple of "photographic proofs" that you may see the character of sphinx I propose to make unless you or the Governor have some suggestion to offer. These pictures should not be examined too critically as the lettle sketch which they are from is only 14 in. long by 7 in high. Counsequently very little effort has been made with regard to expression and detail work. Believe me dear madam Yours very truly William Couper Florence Sept 23rd 1890

4 Via Dante da Castiglione, Florence, Italy.

Dear Mrs. Stanford:

On the 16th of January I sent to you a photograph of the model of the Sphinxes, and also a letter saying the work was progressing; and as it is customary among sculptors when there is much of an outlay, to receive something on account upon the completion of the model: I asked for $1500.= that the work might be facilitated in its progress. As I have not received an answer to this letter, I fear it never reached you.

The principal object of my writing again however, is to ask if you would like an inscription pertaining to your family in hieroglyphics cut in the breastplates of the Sphinxes.

The plates are of the form of the enclosed drawing, and should you decide upon inscriptions of that nature, please have the drawings made upon a paper full size according to the

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measures, and I will cut them in the marble.

I am happy to say, this work I am doing for you has interested a great many people. With kindest regards, believe me dear Madam

Yours very truly

William Couper

Florence Apr. 6th 1891

Letter about the Statues on Museum from Wm Couper

4 Via Dante Da Castiglione, Florence, Italy

Dear Mrs. Stanford

I have to acknowledge with kindest thanks the receipt of your highly valued letters of the 6th and 8th [illegible]: and also the draft for $15.00 from Mr. Lathrop, which has been duly acknowledged to him.

With regard to giving you a definite answer to the questions asked about the statues for the Art Museum, I must confess myself puzzled. In the first place, I cannot draw an exact idea of the necessary height of each statue from simply the measures of the building mentioned in your letter without knowing something of its general form besides its being square.

Then again, each figure must be modelled to suit the place upon which it is to stand and modelled the size the marble is to be. When this is taken into consideration and the time required for the cutting of a figure which will cover at least eight or nine months, saying nothing of the six weeks required for the study of each sketch for the statues, it will be impossible for any one to have the work completed by next spring. Of course the correct heights of the figures can be gotten from the Architect and a photograph of the plan of the building would be all that is necessary to overcome the first obstacle.

Now to the cheap Sculptor! I am obliged to say I do not know anyone whom I could take the responsibility of recommending even at a much higher figure than you mention, for cheap work means bad work naturally, and when