The June 24, 2000, Gerald Burg & Dr. Kardatzke Collections, Sale 6
Lot 551 
Stilwell, Joseph W. (1883-1949) American
Army General. Inscribed Visiting Card Initialed. 4¼ x 2", on
manilla linen card stock. Inscribed and initialed in black ink above his
printed name, "With best wishes to Dr. C. Greenway - J.W.S." Features
printed Chinese characters on verso.
Estimated Value $150-225.
Lot 552 
Strauss, Johann (the Elder). (1804-1849)
Austrian Composer, author of the Radetzky March (1848). Inscribed
Visiting Card. 4 x 2", on cream card stock. Being the musician's card as
"Musikdirector," with a five line inscription in German that begins below
Strauss's printed name and continues onto the verso.
Estimated Value
$450-675.
Lot 553 
Strauss, Johann (the Elder). Visiting
Card Signed. Large card, 4 x 2½", on cream card stock. Boldly signed
on verso in dark ink. Mounting traces on recto, with two small areas of paper
loss affecting the word "Strauss" in the musicians printed name.
Estimated
Value $250-375.
Lot 554 
Strauss, Johann (the Elder). Inscribed
Visiting Card. 3½ x 2¼", on cream card stock, with a brief
message penned in German below the printed name.
Estimated Value $200-300.
Lot 555 
Strauss, Johann (the Elder). Inscribed
Visiting Card Initialed. 4 x 2½", on cream card stock, with a
lengthy inscription in German beginning above Strauss' printed name and
continuing over onto the verso. With the bottom left corner torn off, affecting
two words of text.
Estimated Value $150-225.
Lot 556 
Strauss, Richard. (1864-1949) German
Composer. Inscribed Visiting Card Initialed. 3½ x 2", on cream
card stock, with a delicately penned three-line inscription in German on verso
dated "February 5,1905" in the composer's hand.
Estimated Value
$400-600.
Lot 557 
Stravinsky, Igor. (1882-1971) Russian
Composer, famous for his music for the Diaghilev ballets The Firebird
(1910), Petrushka (1911), and The Rite of Spring (1913), and
impressive later works. Inscribed Visiting Card Signed. 3¾ x
2¼", on cream card stock, dated "May 17, 1943." Stravinsky poses a
fascinating question in the lengthy inscription on this card, which concerns
the composer's "Funeral Song," which has never been published and which
Stravinsky had considered lost. He is surprised to learn that someone has
actually heard his composition performed, and makes haste to learn how this has
come about. Stravinsky writes
"Dear Mr. Stevens Please tell me, When
did you hear my Chant Funèbre. This piece was never published and
I considered it as lost somewhere in Russia during the 1st World War and the
communist revolution. I shall appreciate your answer. Sincerely yours I
Stravinsky May 17/1943"
Chant Funèbre Op 5, which
Stravinsky wrote in 1908, is known by musicologists to be unpublished, with the
manuscript lost. As late as 1943, Stravinsky was still trying to find the music
for his lost composition. A fascinating reference to an unpublished, apparently
lost Stravinsky work. Staple mark at lower left, not affecting text.
Estimated Value $500-750.
The Mr. Stevens mentioned on the card is
believed to be a former member of the faculty at USC. -- Gerry
Burg.
Acquired from Paul Richards, 3/79.
Lot 558 
Sullivan, Sir Arthur. (1842-1900) British
Composer, collaborated with W.S. Gilbert on such light operas as HMS Pinafore"
(1878) and "The Pirates of Penzance" (1879). Inscribed Visiting Card
Initialed. 3 x 1½", on cream card stock. Inscribed by Sullivan,
"Many thanks for your letter & kind congratulations. A.S" above his
printed name.
Estimated Value $400-600.
Lot 559 
Sully-Prudhomme (Pseudonym of René
François Armand). (1839-1907) French Poet. Awarded first Nobel Prize
for Literature in 1901. Inscribed Visiting Card Signed. 3¾ x
2¼", on cream card stock. Inscribed in French on recto/verso, "Unwell
and overworked, I achieved only recently the reading of the remarkable poetry
volume that Misses Alphonse Daudet had the gracious thought to send me. I pray
you to accept my sincere compliments and thanks and to forgive me for the
lateness. Sully-Prudhomme." Tiny crease on upper left.
Estimated Value
$300-500.
Lot 560 
Sumner, Charles. (1811-1874) American
Statesman and Abolitionist. Inscribed Visiting Card Signed. 3 x
1½", on cream card stock. Inscribed above the printed name, "To
introduce Mr. Welling of Washington, an accomplished scholar, to Mr.
Sparks."
Estimated Value $125-175.
Lot 561 
Taft, Mrs. William Howard. Wife of 27th
President. Visiting Card Signed. 3 x 2", on cream card stock. Signed,
"Helen H. Taft" on verso.
Estimated Value $120-180.
Lot 562 
Taft, William Howard. (1857-1930) 27th
President of the United States. Inscribed Philippines Civil Governor's Card
Signed. 3 x 1½", on cream card stock. Penned on verso, "June 9th
1903/ Wm H Taft/ Bagino Banquet." Mounting traces, not affecting
inscription.
Estimated Value $300-450.
Lot 563 
Taft, William Howard. Government Card
Signed. 3½ x 2¾", on cream card stock. With the imprint,
"Washington, DC" and signed in full.
Estimated Value $250-375.
Lot 564 
Taft, William Howard. Government Card
Signed. 4½ x 3", on cream card stock. Boldly signed. Some
discoloration and mounting traces on verso.
Estimated Value $250-375.
Lot 565 
Taft, William Howard. War Department Card
Signed. 4½ x 2¾", on cream card stock. Signed in full.
Estimated Value $250-375.
Lot 566 
Taft, William Howard. Inscribed Card
Signed. 4½ x 3", on cream card stock. Inscribed, "For [ ? ],
with the best wishes of Wm H Taft." Age toned.
Estimated Value
$250-375.
Lot 567 
Taft, William Howard. War Department Card
Signed. 4½ x 2¾", on cream card stock. Boldly signed, "Wm H.
Taft."
Estimated Value $250-375.
Lot 568 
Taft, William Howard. Government Card
Signed. 3¾ x 2½", on cream card stock with a beautiful gold
embossed federal seal. Signed in gold ink. Mounting traces on verso, with minor
soiling on recto.
Estimated Value $250-375.
Lot 569 
Taft, William Howard. White House Card
Signed. 4½ x 2¾", on white card stock. Boldly signed "Wm H
Taft." Mounting traces on verso, with light age-toning.
Estimated Value
$250-375.
Lot 570 
Thackeray, William Makepeace. (1811-1863)
British Novelist, author of the masterful satire Vanity Fair (1847-8).
Inscribed Visiting Card Signed. 3½ x 2", on cream card stock.
Signed, "W. Thackeray" below his printed name and inscribed in the lower
left, "Andersons Music Store - Pa Avenue." Mounting traces at corners,
not affecting signature.
Estimated Value $175-250.
Lot 571 
Togo, Heihachiro. (1846-1934) Japanese
Admiral. Visiting Card Signed Twice. 3¾ x 2¼", on off-white
card stock. Elegantly signed on the verso in English and in Japanese characters
below.
Estimated Value $150-225.
Lot 572 
Togo, Heihachiro. Government Card
Signed. Approximately 4½ x 3¼", on cream card stock, with the
embossed imprint, "Navy Department. Tokio." and "His Excellency Admiral of
the Fleet, Count Heihachiro Togo, O.M." typed and underlined in red along
the bottom of recto. Signed, "Admiral Count / H.Togo." Remnants of red
ink on verso.
Estimated Value $150-225.
Lot 573 
Tolstoy, Leo. (1828-1910) Russian Novelist,
authored the epics War and Peace (1865-9) and Anna Karenina
(1873-7). Inscribed Visiting Card Signed. 3½ x 2", on cream card
stock. Inscribed and signed in pencil, "Please leave a word to the porter as
to when I can find [you] at home tomorrow or Monday. Yours truly Tolstoy"
above and below the author's printed name, which is in French, "Comte
Léon L. Tolstoy," which suggests that Tolstoy used this calling card
while he was abroad. Exhibits some minor soiling from handling. Very few
Tolstoy signed cards exist.
Estimated Value $1,000-1,500.
Acquired
from Renaldo Saggiori, 6/65.
Lot 574 
Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri. (1864-1901) French
Artist and Illustrator. Inscribed Visiting Card Signed. 3½ x 2",
on cream card stock. With a lengthy inscription which begins above the famous
artist's printed name, and continues on the verso: "Dear Sir Would you give
to the porter the lithograph that you have from me. It is to make a
reproduction in French Art ... made by Alexandre and me... I will
give it back to you in four days ...T Lautrec."
Estimated Value
$2,500-3,750.
Acquired from Kenneth Rendell, 2/78.
Lot 575 
Trotsky, Leon. (1879-1940) Russian Communist
Leader and Revolutionary. Inscribed Visiting Card Initialed. 2¾ x 2",
on cream card stock. A visiting card from late in the revolutionary's career,
with Trotsky's printed address given as "Coyoacan Mexique." Trotsky has
inscribed the card on the verso in French, in light blue ink: "Mr.
Thième I wish you a good and happy new year... and a long life.
Trotsky." The last line of the inscription is faint, and Trotsky's
signature, which appears between the penultimate and the last line of text, is
so badly faded as to be almost illegible. Nonetheless, so few of these exist as
to make this example quite desirable.
Estimated Value $500-750.