Life & Letters

Correspondence

About this Item

Title: Leon Richeton to Walt Whitman, 10 December 1880

Date: December 10, 1880

Whitman Archive ID: nyp.00569

Source: The Oscar Lion Papers, 1914–1955, New York Public Library, New York, N.Y. Transcribed from digital images or a microfilm reproduction of the original item. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the correspondence, see our statement of editorial policy.

Editorial note: The annotation, "answer send pictures," is in the hand of Walt Whitman.

Contributors to digital file: Jeannette Schollaert and Nicole Gray



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39 Pembroke Square
Kensington [Ma.?]
10 Dec 1880.

Sir,

Permit me to introduce myself to you before I state the purpose of my letter. I am an etcher and I enclose a few notices from The Times and other journals in case you have never seen any of my works in America.

I have seen an imperfect portrait of you and have a great desire to etch a better one, if you will kindly grant me your permission to do so. Have you not a photograph of yourself without a hat, as I would prefer to etch your portrait without that disguise—a hat being a merely extraneous adjunct of a head which by itself has characteristics far more interesting to the [artiste?].

If you have such a photograph will you kindly send it to me—supposing you do not object to my etching your portrait. The photograph shall be returned to you along with some proofs which in advance I beg you to accept.

Yours faithfully
Leon Richeton

Walt Whitman Esqr

P.S. I must ask you to be kind enough to return to me the enclosed notices of my works.


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