1853 LETTER DE LA RUE LONDON FIRM to sculptor Cevasco New York to Genoa Italy

Description

[1853 LETTER DE LA RUE, LONDON FIRM, TO ITALIAN SCULPTOR GIOVANNI BATTISTA CEVASCO, NEW YORK TO GENOA, ITALY] “All Egregio Scultore, Giovanni Battista Cevasco, Genova” New York, 29th Oct. 1853 embossed circular crest with wording “De la Rue London” in upper left corner of first page
, 1-page handwritten letter/ALS,
in Italian
, first page of sheet folded for four pages, 4-1/4” x 6-1/2”/about 100 words,
handwritten text in Italian
, signed “Pinolto Valerios”, a De la Rue representative in the U. S. as indicated by other letters this one was among (see Provenance below)…Valerios writes that Signor Pearson is carrying this letter as an introduction to Cevasco, traveling to Italy in the hope of improving his health in the warm climate, and out of friendship with Cevasco, Valerois requests that he look after Pearson to make his stay comfortable and salutary…Gaston Pearson is from a leading Washington, D. C. area family, such introductions for travelers by hand-carried letters and requests for hospitality from the recipient were a common practice at the time among the wealthy and well-connected;
NOTES: DE LA RUE, LONDON:
a business
founded by Thomas de la Rue in the early 1800s…originally a maker of ‘Leghorn’ straw hats…in 183o in London with partners, the company began printing playing cards, the first company ever to do so…later was licensed to print postage stamps and banknotes. (wikipedia);
GIOVANNI BATTISTA CEVASCO:
1814-91, one of the first sculptors who worked in the cemetery of Staglieno…a prolific artist…commissioned by House of Savoy, the marquis Ignazio Alessandro Pallavicini, and other prestigious patrons…works are seen in the park of the Villa Pallavicini in the city of Pegli…His style has always been subdued, beginning from a classical one, and ending with a more realistic one, as in the tomb Badaracco, (from Tomb Chiarella Sculptor G. B. Cevasco 1864, online source);
WILLIAM GASTON PEARSON:
1834-1861, member of the noted family of North Carolina Congressman Joseph Pearson (1776-1834) which through marriage became the owner of the estate Brentwood outside of Washington, D. C., now a northeastern area of the city…spent much time traveling throughout the U. S. and Europe looking for cures;
PROVENANCE:
letter was among a large group of Pearson family letters and related papers acquired by the seller
/// CONDITION:
letter well-preserved with some handwriting difficult to make out as common with handwriting of the period.