About this Item
Seven letters (most 8½" x 11"), four Kodak color snapshots (5" x 7"), and the May 1945 issue of Photography magazine, featuring a portfolio of Karsh's portraits. The letters appear to be mostly business file copies (two are on onionskin), but one letter from Karsh's studio is Signed (secretarially) in ink. All are very good, with a bit of toning and two light rust-marks from a paperclip. Photos are fine. Magazine is very good with light wear and a bit of loss at the base of the spine, a tiny piece being held in place with cloth tape. Overall, very good or better. A small archive of correspondence concerning legendary photographer Yousuf Karsh (1908-2002) shooting portraits of two Wilmington, Delaware, businessmen in 1971. The archive includes seven pieces of communication from both before and after the shoot. Three letters are from Karsh's studio and include interesting information such as instructions for dress (no fresh haircuts, avoid blues, bring a change of necktie), and pricing for color dye transfer prints (a 30" x 40" print was $1,000). The sitters were Werner C. Brown (1919-2015), and John M. Martin (1913-1990), Chairmen of Hercules, Inc. (now Ashland Chemical). Werner would later serve on the President's Export Council under Richard Nixon. The communication spans September 9 through November 18, 1971. According to the Karsh estate's website, both men were photographed on September 30. The most charming letter is dictated by Mr. Karsh and Signed in his name by his secretary on November 10. The two businessmen must have been amateur photographers, for Karsh says ".your knowledge and enthusiasm about photography gave me added incentive to record and interpret your personality." He also thanks them for "the snapshots, recording a happy moment in our photographic session." Included in this archive are four 5" x 7" Kodak color prints (one set of duplicates) of Karsh signing books of his photographs. In the duplicates, his wife Estrellita looks down smiling, with her hands on his shoulders. In the two other photos (they appear to be taken moments apart), a copy of the May 1945 issue of Photography magazine, featuring a portfolio of Karsh's work, is laying on the table. That magazine is also included, although it does not appear to be modified in any way. A small but charming archive of correspondence related to a successful portrait sitting for two Wilmington, Delaware businessman by the legendary portrait photographer Yousuf Karsh.
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