Lucy Henry Harrison to Stan Henkels

Letter

Patrick Henry's Red Hill

Name/Title

Lucy Henry Harrison to Stan Henkels

Entry/Object ID

04.13.23

Description

A handwritten letter on two pages of stationery headed "Brookneal, Va." From Lucy Henry Harrison to Stan V. Henkels. Dated January 8, 1911. Mrs. Harrison reiterates what her secretary, Elizabeth Kerper, arranged with Mr. Henkels concerning his previously quoted cost for the catalog.

Transcription

Brookneal, Va., January 8th 1911 Mr. Stan V. Henkels, My Dear Sir: About the second week in August, I sent my private secretary to Philadelphia to see you, and to talk with you about the sale of the “Henry” relics and papers. One special object of her visit was to get from you, an accurate estimate of the expenses of selling these by auction, as you were urging me to do. Immediately after seeing you she sent me the list, which you gave her, of the expenses already incurred for freight, express and insurance, and you wrote on the other side of the papers that the only other expense would be your 10% commission and the cataloguing. Immediately after leaving your office she wrote me, enclosed the list of expenses you had given her and explained that you had not put down the cost of the cataloguing, as you did not know exactly what the cost would be, but, that it would not be over a hundred dollars. As this was your official statement to my representative I accepted it as an agreement and as you never intimated that you would spend more and had no authority from me to do it I see no right that you have to claim more from me. I certainly expect you to keep your agreements with me and this was a positive one. Very truly yours Mrs. M. B. Harrison Per E. H. K

Language

English

Dimensions

Width

6-1/2 in

Length

9-3/4 in

Provenance

Notes

This letter belongs to a collection of correspondence primarily from Lucy Gray Henry Harrison (1857–1944) to Stanislaus “Stan” Vincent Henkels (1854–1926) concerning a proposed sale of Patrick Henry family heirlooms in 1910. Mrs. Harrison was Patrick Henry's great-granddaughter and the last Henry descendant to own and live at Red Hill. She grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and moved to Duluth, Minnesota, after marrying real estate millionaire Matthew Bland Harrison (1853–1892) in 1886. In 1905, she inherited Red Hill and moved onto the property, where she lived along with her sister, Elizabeth Watkins Henry Lyons (1855–1920), and her assistant, Elizabeth H. Kerper (1890–1964). Mrs. Harrison inherited many of the family heirlooms that had belonged to Patrick Henry and many of his papers. In 1910, on the advice of Philadelphia neurologist and writer Dr. Weir Mitchell (1829–1914), she contacted Stan V. Henkels about a possible private sale or public auction of some of these pieces. Mr. Henkels was an antique dealer in Philadelphia well-known for his auctions and private sales to collectors. The correspondence from Mrs. Harrison to Mr. Henkels details their business negotiations from May 1910 leading up to the sale of the items in Philadelphia on December 20, 1910. It also includes letters concerning a settling of accounts between them up through February 1911. Mrs. Harrison freighted Henry’s chair, desk, and law books to Mr. Henkels in June 1910. The rest of the objects and papers were sent by express mail. The Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation purchased this letter from an online seller in May 2004 as part of the collection of correspondence.