Autograph Letter Signed to Albert Bagby Regarding a Lecture at the Newport Town and Country Club, late 1880s.
Newport: 1880s. Single page with writing on both sides, signed by Howe. Fine condition. Fine. Item #List1817
A short but interesting note from Julia Ward Howe to Albert Bagby, the Illinois-born musician who trained with Liszt in Germany and would eventually be a longtime host of “Mr. Bagby’s Musical Mornings” at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York, where it was a fixture among the high society set. Bagby’s career as a host started after presenting a paper to the Newport Town and Country Club while Howe was president. After he presented his paper on Liszt at the club, he was approached by Howe’s daughter, Maude Howe Elliot, about turning the paper into a lecture. This would end up being the catalyst for him to abandon performing and devote himself to lectures, and after giving his first presentation on Liszt to a small audience in his Manhattan studio he began his regular series at the Waldorf-Astoria.
The letter reads as follows:
My dear Mr. Bagby,
The time for your paper is not quite settled. I will send you word about it very shortly, and shall bear in mind what you say about your possible trip to Europe. We should be much disappointed to lose your lecture and I hope that we shall certainly hear you.
Yours sincerely,
Julia W. Howe
July 31st
Newport, R.I.
An interesting note, documenting an event that would be essential for Bagby’s career.
Price: $500.00