Robert Fridenberg to Charles Hamilton

Letter

Patrick Henry's Red Hill

Name/Title

Robert Fridenberg to Charles Hamilton

Entry/Object ID

76.5.8

Description

A handwritten letter on letterhead stationery, dated March 4, 1913. The letter is addressed to Charles L. Hamilton and signed by Robert Fridenberg. It is written in answer to a query made by Mr. Hamilton concerning the supposed likeness between Patrick Henry and James Cook.

Letter Details

Letter Date

3/4/1913

Transcription

Robert Fridenberg Telephone, Murray Hill 4300 Engravings 6 E. 42d Street, New York C. L. Hamilton Esq. New York, March 4th 1913 Dear Sir, Pardon the delay in answering your enquiries of Feb. 24th. There is undoubtedly a remarkable resemblance between the Dance portrait of Capt. Cook and the Sully - Patrick Henry, and in default of good documentary evidence to the contrary Mr. Hart's statement is plausible. I may say that this opinion is not original with Mr. Hart and is a general one; I heard it thirty years ago. I do not know where the original of the portrait of Capt Cook is and have never seen a reproduction in original colors. I send to-day two prints which may aid you. Did you know that there was a fine folio line engraving of Patrick Henry delivering his Celebrated Speech, engraved by Alfred Jones after the Rothermel? I cannot find the date of death of W.W. Henry but the Life was published about 1887. The Life by Wm. Wirt was published at Philadelphia 1817. I shall try to get copies for you and report later. Yours truly, Robert Fridenberg

Language

English

Dimensions

Width

11 in

Length

8-1/2 in

Provenance

Notes

Robert Fridenberg wrote this letter to Charles L. Hamilton on March 4, 1913. Mr. Hamilton was a private collector with an interest in Patrick Henry. In 1910, he attended Stan V. Henkel's auction of Henry relics and purchased several documents and engravings related to Patrick Henry, including a collection of 13 engravings of Captain James Cook. Hamilton was interested in the supposed resemblance between a portrait of Patrick Henry painted by Thomas Sully and a portrait of Captain James Cook painted by Nathaniel Dance. In February of 1913, several years later, Hamilton wrote to Mr. Fridenberg, inquiring about the plausibility of this connection. This letter is Mr. Fridenberg's response to that inquiry. He confirms the resemblance and gives his reasons for that belief. The heirs of Charles Hamilton donated this letter to the Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation in the spring of 1959. Correspondence records indicate that in September 1959, it was loaned to Mrs. Otto Verne, a descendant of Charles Hamilton, on the donor list for the original accession. She copied the letter and then returned it in October 1959. Also supposed to be included in this file, according to the donor Walter M. Schwartz in his letter of January 28, 1959, are the following documents: William Wirt Henry's letter with other papers typed November 26, 1873; a copy of William Wirt Henry's letter with other papers dated November 26, 1873; Letter of Charles J. Cohen, March 16th, 1913; Henkel Letter to C.H. Hamilton, July 27, 1911; Certificate of Lucy Gray Henry Harrison about castors, silver buckles and portrait; Envelope with Mrs. Harrison's address; Letter from George Newhall; Letter from F. N. Pederson about Sword Guards. These additional items are no longer in the file. There is no information available to indicate whether these objects were ever in the possession of the Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation, and if so, how they went missing. The other items listed in Schwartz's letter of January 28, 1959 (No. 1-6) were all properly accessioned. This note was added to 76.5.8 on June 26, 1978, by Edith Poindexter: "This is the only article from item No. 7 in the January 28, 1959 letter from Walter M. Schwartz, Jr. that has been found as of 6-26-78."