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Letter from Charles S. Carstairs to Henry Clay Frick, with enclosure, 13 August 1915
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AUG 26 1915 FORWARDED from P. C. REFERRED ANSWERED
Copy.
Paris. August 3rd, 1915.
Dear Mr. Carstairs,
Yours of the 30th to hand.
Mr. Maus is away. Saw the manageress in his place this morning as she only comes in twice a week. I tried, the first time I saw Mr. Maus himself, to see in what state the things were in, but he said he always absolutely refuses to let anyone go to his workshops. I tried again this morning to see the furniture with his manageress, but without success. Mr. Maus is not an over-pleasant man and I was glad to have to deal with his manageress as I could get to know more out of her, and from a telephone conversation she had with the ateliers at Puteaux, the things are in the following state:
One canape, and the screen are finished. There is only the tapestry to put on the seat of the other canape.
As to the eight armchairs, the different tapestry seats and the back of the chairs are still in the workmen's hands, and it is absolutely impossible to say when they will all be terminated and ready to fix on, as she says they all pass in different hands according to whether it is the flowers which have to be repaired, whether it is the background or the sides, so that is all I can say about the tapestries. The gilding of all the chairs is finished, there is only the necessary work to make the gilding look old to be done, and this will take about two days for each piece, and this is only done when the seat and back of each chair are fixed.
The manageress seems to have hopes that they will be finished much before the 15th September, but, as she says, at the last minute, when everything is fixed, there are sometimes more retouches to be done, hence the extra delay asked for.
From both conversations I had with Mr. Maus and his manageress, they are doing their best to get through with the work as quick as possible, and had it not been on account of the war, I am under the impression the work would already finished.
I am not writing to Mr. Frick direct, as I thought you would perhaps like to do so yourself, there being no advantage in my doing so as far as quickness is concerned, because we only have a boat next Saturday from Bordeaux. When this reaches you, you will have plenty of time for the Saturday boat from Liverpool.
Yours Sincerely, (sgd) GEO. H. DAVEY.