Typed letter
signed by the famed conductor to his nephew Leopold Mannes and his wife Evelyn
on his personal address letterhead, December 26, 1945. We offer with an original, sepia
double-weight 8” x 10” photograph in front of an NBC microphone and with Martin
P. Rice the Publicity Manager of General Electric Company Broadcasting c. 1928,
WGY Studios Schenectady, New York.
The
conductor writes:
December 26, 1945
Dear Evelyn and Leopold:
Your lovely gift is quite out of order, as only my
venerable self is permitted to send Christmas presents to his relatives. But you know me for an enthusiastic drinker,
and that your kind present is irresistible and absolutely prevents my refusing
to accept it.
As always, with much love to both of you, not
forgetting that exquisite baby,
Your,
Uncle Walter
Damrosch
(1862-1950) writes to his nephew Leopold Mannes (1899-1964) and his wife Evelyn
Sabin Mannes (1907-1968). Leopold was the son of violinist David Mannes and his
wife Clara Damrosch Mannes, Walter’s sister.
Leopold who was named after his grandfather, conductor and Wagner acolyte
Leopold Damrosch, ran the conservatory named after his father. He is best remembered as co-inventing the
Kodachrome film process with Leopold Godowsky Jr. He was also trained concert pianist with
among others Guy Maier and Alfred Cortot. and performed chamber music with the
Mannes-Gimpel-Silva Trio. His wife
Evelyn was a professional dancer, a student of Martha Graham and later
performed with her company. The baby
mentioned by Damrosch is Elena Mannes, a well known documentary filmmaker who
is currently on the faculty of Mannes.
Walter Damrosch
was the Music Director of the “National Symphony Orchestra” which on some
programs was known as the “General Electric Symphony Orchestra” from, 1928
through 1932. (The concerts originate on WGY in Schenectady New York). The
National Broadcasting Company was founded in 1926 by RCA, which was a
subsidiary of the General Electric Company.
General Electric was forced to divest ownership of NBC after an
anti-trust lawsuit, however, the two companies remained intertwined for
decades. Damrosch’s orchestra was the
precursor to Toscanini’s NBC Symphony in 1937. Prior to his Broadcasting
career, he was the Music Director of the New York Symphony Orchestra, a rivasl
of the New York Philharmonic from 1885 to 1928.
The letter bears the original fold creases else fine. The photograph is in mint condition
We will accept either eBay payments or a domestic US bank check.
Music Antiquarian and Appraiser
New York, New York
All items guaranteed authentic