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14-C Maine Antique Digest, April 2015
- AUCTION -
An approximately 11" x 8" photo-
graph of Ruggero Leoncavallo sold
to an Asian bidder for $1845 (est.
$1500/2500). Boldly signed, it includes
an inscription in French, a musical
quotation (two bars, “Ridi, Pagliacco,”
from his most famous aria, “Vesti la
giubba”), and a date and place, “New
York 14-12-1906.” The photographer
was E. Rossi of Genoa. An American
private collector spent $15,000 (est.
$10,000/15,000) on autograph music
(not shown) signed twice by Leonca-
vallo. The three pages, approximately
13" x 10¾" each, show “Vesti la
giubba” from
Pagliacci.
The time and
place are noted as “Viareggio, 29 April
1915.”
An autograph letter signed in Italian by Giacomo Puccini went to
an Asian bidder for $10,800 (est. $8000/12,000). The single page,
approximately 6¾" x 9 2/3", discusses
Turandot
, the composer’s
final and unfinished opera. It is dated May 4, 1923, and was writ-
ten on his Viareggio stationery. The item was accompanied by a
photograph (not shown) approximately 7 2/3" x 5".
A one-page typed letter signed
by Sergei Rachmaninoff sold for $7200 (est.
$1000/1500). It is 10¾" x 7¼" and in Cyrillic. The addressee is “Michael.”
It was written in Lucerne on August 29, 1937. The subject is his ideas on
variations of his
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.
Also in the lot was a
6" x 5" photograph signed and inscribed in English, “To Mrs. Clifford
Ellison.”
An Asian bought an autograph music manuscript signed by
Gioachino Rossini for $18,000 (est. $15,000/25,000) The single
page is on a 6½" x 10" leaf from the guestbook of Adelina Patti.
The inscription, in French, reveals Rossini’s unbridled admi-
ration for the opera star. It was translated in the catalog as:
“My Good Adelina, Nothing is easier than tossing a thought
into your album—a thought which strikes me. Cherishing you
as an adoring creature, admiring your ravishing talent, being
ever your friend G. Rossini, Paris, 16 February 1864.” A carte
de visite of Rossini, signed and inscribed in French to a friend
in 1861, sold to a European bidder for $2400 (est. $2000/3000).
The photo is approximately 4" x 2".
An autograph letter signed by George
Gershwin brought $14,400 (est.
$8000/12,000). It includes a musical
quotation from “Summertime.” The
letter on Gershwin’s New York City
letterhead stationery was addressed
to Dorothy Heyward, who coauthored
and helped produce
Porgy & Bess
with
her husband, DuBose Heyward, adapt-
ing it from his novel
Porgy.
The single,
undated page, approximately 8 2/3" x
6 2/3", is essentially a “get-well” letter
to Dorothy, who wasn’t feeling well.
Slightly below and beside the musi-
cal quotation the charming Gershwin
wrote in parentheses, “a little music
helps sometimes.”
An autograph letter signed by Anto-
nio Salieri achieved $9600 (est.
$4000/6000). The one page, written in
Italian, is dated November 14, 1821.
Essentially a letter of recommendation
for a young double-bass player, Luigi
Grohoski, it is 9¼" x 7½" and has the
composer’s red
wax seal intact.
A photograph of Richard Strauss and his
wife, Pauline, went to an Internet bidder
for $4062.50 (est. $1000/1500). The approx-
imately 6 2/3" x 4 2/3" image is signed and
inscribed in German. The catalog gives this
translation: “To Frau Paula Wolfsohn…
the thankful married Strausses when
not
on concert tour!”
An undated autograph letter signed in
Italian by Franz Joseph Haydn with
a great association fetched $46,875
(est. $20,000/30,000). The single page,
7¼" x 4½", was addressed to Haydn’s
friend Dr. Charles Burney (1726-1814)
of England, the foremost music histo-
rian of his time, who was also a com-
poser and musician.
An autograph musical quotation signed
by Peter Tchaikovsky got $20,400 (est.
$12,000/18,000). The three bars from his Suite
No. 3 were written on paper permanently
mounted on cardstock approximately x 4¼" x
6 1/3". After his name he wrote “29 Apr. 91.
New York.” Making the lot even more compel-
ling was an accompanying 4¼" x 3½" photo-
graph signed and inscribed by the composer in
German to a “Mr. Dippel.” The translation in
the catalog reads: “in fond/friendly memory/
remembrance. P. Tchaikovsky 9 May 91, N.Y.”