IT WAS ONE OF THE FEW THINGS GEORGE WASHINGTON WANTED TO DO BUT NEVER GOT AROUND TO: BUILD A LIBRARY TO HOLD HIS OFFICIAL AND PERSONAL PAPERS. ON THURSDAY, MORE THAN 200 YEARS AFTER WASHINGTON WROTE OF THE IDEA, DIGNITARIES BROKE GROUND AT HIS MOUNT VERNON ESTATE ON A $47 MILLION PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY OF SORTS THAT THEY HOPE WILL EVOLVE INTO A 'THINK TANK' PROMOTING SCHOLARSHIP ABOUT ONE OF THE NATION'S FOUNDING FATHERS. THE ESTATE HOPES THE LIBRARY WILL BECOME A HOME TO A CENTRALIZED COLLECTION OF WASHINGTON'S PAPERS. THE PRESIDENT WROTE IN A 1797 LETTER, TWO YEARS BEFORE HIS DEATH, ABOUT A LIBRARY, SAYING HIS PAPERS WERE 'VOLUMINOUS AND MAY BE INTERESTING'. DEFENSE SECRETARY ROBERT GATES SAID AT THURSDAY'S CEREMONIES THAT NO ONE DESERVES A PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY MORE THAN WASHINGTON. HIS LEADERSHIP AS PRESIDENT PROVIDES GUIDANCE EVEN TODAY, GATES SAID. GATES COMPARED WASHINGTON'S GUIDANCE DURING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION TO THE MODERN DILEMMA ABOUT HOW AMERICA SHOULD SUPPORT DEMOCRATIC-LEANING UPHEAVALS IN THE MIDDLE EAST. WASHINGTON, GATES SAID, WAS CAUGHT BETWEEN FRANCOPHILES LIKE THOMAS JEFFERSON WHO SAW A KINDRED SPIRIT BETWEEN FRENCH, AND AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARIES AND FEDERALISTS LIKE JOHN ADAMS AND ALEXANDER HAMILTON WHO WERE SHOCKED BY THE FRENCH REVOLUTION'S EXCESSES. ULTIMATELY, WASHINGTON EMBARKED ON A CAUTIOUS, PRAGMATIC STRATEGY THAT INCLUDED A DECLARATION OF NEUTRALITY TOWARD FRANCE AND STRUCK A PEACE TREATY WITH THE BRITISH LEADING SOME TO CONCLUDE WASHINGTON WAS 'SELLING OUT THE SPIRIT OF 1776', GATES SAID. 'FROM OUR EARLIEST DAYS AMERICAN LEADERS HAVE STRUGGLED WITH REALISTIC VERSUS IDEALISTIC APPROACHES' TO FOREIGN POLICY, GATES ADDED. THE LESSON FROM WASHINGTON, HE SAID, IS THAT 'WE ARE COMPELLED TO DEFEND OUR SECURITY AND INTERESTS IN WAYS THAT IN THE LONG RUN LEAD TO THE SPREAD OF DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS.' THE BUILDING WILL BE CALLED THE FRED W SMITH NATIONAL LIBRARY FOR THE STUDY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON. MOUNT VERNON DIRECTOR JAMES REES SAID THE TERM 'PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY' COULD MISLEAD PEOPLE INTO BELIEVING THAT THE MOUNT VERNON LIBRARY WILL RECEIVE FEDERAL FUNDING, AS MODERN PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARIES DO THROUGH THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES. THE MOUNT VERNON LADIES' ASSOCIATION, WHICH HAS RUN THE ESTATE SINCE PURCHASING IT FROM THE WASHINGTON FAMILY IN 1858, HAS NEVER ACCEPTED GOVERNMENT FUNDS. THE BIGGEST CHUNK OF MONEY FOR THE LIBRARY CAME FROM THE LAS VEGAS-BASED DONALD W REYNOLDS FOUNDATION, WHICH CONTRIBUTED $38 MILLION. FRED W SMITH, THE FOUNDATION'S CHAIRMAN, HAS BEEN A MOUNT VERNON SUPPORTER SINCE 2001, AFTER BECOMING INVOLVED IN EFFORTS TO KEEP A FAMOUS PORTRAIT OF WASHINGTON FROM BEING SOLD AT PRIVATE AUCTION. REES SAID THE LIBRARY WILL ALLOW THE ESTATE TO EXPAND ITS EXISTING TEACHER-TRAINING PROGRAMS AND HOST SEMINARS FOR GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS GROUPS ON TOPICS LIKE WASHINGTON'S VISION OF LEADERSHIP. THE ESTATE HAS NOT COMPLETED ITS FUNDRAISING. IT HAS SO FAR RAISED ABOUT $70 MILLION OF THE $100 MILLION THAT WILL BE NEEDED TO BUILD AND ENDOW THE LIBRARY, REES SAID. COMPLETION IS SCHEDULED FOR 2013.

GEORGE WASHINGTON LIBRARY BREAKS GROUND AT MOUNT VERNON

IT WAS ONE OF THE FEW THINGS GEORGE WASHINGTON WANTED TO DO BUT NEVER GOT AROUND TO: BUILD A LIBRARY TO HOLD HIS OFFICIAL AND PERSONAL PAPERS. ON THURSDAY, MORE THAN 200 YEARS AFTER WASHINGTON WROTE OF THE IDEA, DIGNITARIES BROKE GROUND AT HIS MOUNT VERNON ESTATE ON A $47 MILLION PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY OF SORTS THAT THEY HOPE WILL EVOLVE INTO A 'THINK TANK' PROMOTING SCHOLARSHIP ABOUT ONE OF THE NATION'S FOUNDING FATHERS. THE ESTATE HOPES THE LIBRARY WILL BECOME A HOME TO A CENTRALIZED COLLECTION OF WASHINGTON'S PAPERS. THE PRESIDENT WROTE IN A 1797 LETTER, TWO YEARS BEFORE HIS DEATH, ABOUT A LIBRARY, SAYING HIS PAPERS WERE 'VOLUMINOUS AND MAY BE INTERESTING'. DEFENSE SECRETARY ROBERT GATES SAID AT THURSDAY'S CEREMONIES THAT NO ONE DESERVES A PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY MORE THAN WASHINGTON. HIS LEADERSHIP AS PRESIDENT PROVIDES GUIDANCE EVEN TODAY, GATES SAID. GATES COMPARED WASHINGTON'S GUIDANCE DURING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION TO THE MODERN DILEMMA ABOUT HOW AMERICA SHOULD SUPPORT DEMOCRATIC-LEANING UPHEAVALS IN THE MIDDLE EAST. WASHINGTON, GATES SAID, WAS CAUGHT BETWEEN FRANCOPHILES LIKE THOMAS JEFFERSON WHO SAW A KINDRED SPIRIT BETWEEN FRENCH, AND AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARIES AND FEDERALISTS LIKE JOHN ADAMS AND ALEXANDER HAMILTON WHO WERE SHOCKED BY THE FRENCH REVOLUTION'S EXCESSES. ULTIMATELY, WASHINGTON EMBARKED ON A CAUTIOUS, PRAGMATIC STRATEGY THAT INCLUDED A DECLARATION OF NEUTRALITY TOWARD FRANCE AND STRUCK A PEACE TREATY WITH THE BRITISH LEADING SOME TO CONCLUDE WASHINGTON WAS 'SELLING OUT THE SPIRIT OF 1776', GATES SAID. 'FROM OUR EARLIEST DAYS AMERICAN LEADERS HAVE STRUGGLED WITH REALISTIC VERSUS IDEALISTIC APPROACHES' TO FOREIGN POLICY, GATES ADDED. THE LESSON FROM WASHINGTON, HE SAID, IS THAT 'WE ARE COMPELLED TO DEFEND OUR SECURITY AND INTERESTS IN WAYS THAT IN THE LONG RUN LEAD TO THE SPREAD OF DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS.' THE BUILDING WILL BE CALLED THE FRED W SMITH NATIONAL LIBRARY FOR THE STUDY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON. MOUNT VERNON DIRECTOR JAMES REES SAID THE TERM 'PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY' COULD MISLEAD PEOPLE INTO BELIEVING THAT THE MOUNT VERNON LIBRARY WILL RECEIVE FEDERAL FUNDING, AS MODERN PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARIES DO THROUGH THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES. THE MOUNT VERNON LADIES' ASSOCIATION, WHICH HAS RUN THE ESTATE SINCE PURCHASING IT FROM THE WASHINGTON FAMILY IN 1858, HAS NEVER ACCEPTED GOVERNMENT FUNDS. THE BIGGEST CHUNK OF MONEY FOR THE LIBRARY CAME FROM THE LAS VEGAS-BASED DONALD W REYNOLDS FOUNDATION, WHICH CONTRIBUTED $38 MILLION. FRED W SMITH, THE FOUNDATION'S CHAIRMAN, HAS BEEN A MOUNT VERNON SUPPORTER SINCE 2001, AFTER BECOMING INVOLVED IN EFFORTS TO KEEP A FAMOUS PORTRAIT OF WASHINGTON FROM BEING SOLD AT PRIVATE AUCTION. REES SAID THE LIBRARY WILL ALLOW THE ESTATE TO EXPAND ITS EXISTING TEACHER-TRAINING PROGRAMS AND HOST SEMINARS FOR GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS GROUPS ON TOPICS LIKE WASHINGTON'S VISION OF LEADERSHIP. THE ESTATE HAS NOT COMPLETED ITS FUNDRAISING. IT HAS SO FAR RAISED ABOUT $70 MILLION OF THE $100 MILLION THAT WILL BE NEEDED TO BUILD AND ENDOW THE LIBRARY, REES SAID. COMPLETION IS SCHEDULED FOR 2013.

GEORGE WASHINGTON LIBRARY BREAKS GROUND AT MOUNT VERNON

BEFORE BECOMING A BRIDE EIGHT TIMES OVER, ELIZABETH TAYLOR WAS A 17 YEAR OLD STARLET SCRIBBLING LETTERS TO HER FIRST FIANCE, CHARTING ON PALE PINK STATIONARY HIS PROGRESSION FROM HER ONE AND ONLY TO THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY. 'I'VE NEVER KNOWN THIS KIND OF LOVE BEFORE - IT'S SO PERFECT AND COMPLETE - AND MATURE', TAYLOR WROTE TO WILLIAM PAWLEY ON 6.MAY.1949. 'I'VE NEVER LOVED ANYONE IN MY LIFE BEFORE ONE THIRD AS MUCH AS I LOVE YOU - AND I NEVER WILL (WELL, AS FAR AS THAT GORES - I'LL NEVER LOVE ANYONE ELSE - PERIOD!) TAYLOR, WHO DIED LAST WEEK AT AGE 79, WAS ENGAGED TO PAWLEY IN 1949, JUST BEFORE HER FIRST MARRIAGE. MORE THAN 60 OF THE LETTERS SHE WROTE HIM BETWEEN MARCH AND OCTOBER OF THAT YEAR WILL BE AUCTIONED IN MAY BY RR AUCTIONS OF AMHERST, N.H. IT BOUGHT THE LETTERS TWO YEARS AGO FROM PAWLEY, WHO LIVES IN FLORIDA. THE UNPUBLISHED LETTERS - SOME WRITTEN IN PURPLE FOUNTAIN INK ON PINK PAPER - PROVIDE A GLIMPSE OF A TEENAGER'S TRANSITION TO ADULT STAR. SHE FRETS ABOUT HER WEIGHT ('AS I'M SITTING HERE - WRITING TO YOU, I'M JUST STUFFING MYSELF ON A BOX OF CANDY - HONESTLY I'VE GOT TO STOP EATING SO MUCH') AND PASSING HER HIGH SCHOOL EXAMS. AND SHE CONTRASTS TWO MOVIES SHE WAS DOING AT THE TIME, 'A PLACE IN THE SUN' AND 'THE BIG HANGOVER', PRAISING THE DIRECTOR OF THE FORMER AND COMPLAINING ABOUT HER ROLE IN THE LATTER. BUT MOSTLY, SHE GUSHES ABOUT PAWLEY, THE 22 YEAR OLD SON OF A FORMER AMBASSADOR TO BRAZIL, REASSURING HIM OVER AND OVER THAT HER LOVE IS TRUE. 'MY HEART ACHES & MAKES ME WANT TO CRY WHEN I THINK OF YOU, AND HOW MUCH I WANT TO BE WITH YOU AND TO LOOK INTO YOUR BEAUTIFUL BLUE EYES, AND KISS YOUR SWEET LIPS AND HAVE YOUR STRONG ARMS HOLD ME, OH SO TIGHT, & CLOSE TO YOU ... I WANT US TO BE 'LOVERS' ALWAYS ... EVEN AFTER WE'VE BEEN MARRIED SEVENTY FIVE YEARS AND HAVE AT LEAST A DOZEN GREAT-GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN', SHE WROTE ON 28.MARCH. AT THE TIME, TAYLOR WAS PUBLICLY DATING FOOTBALL PLAYER GLENN DAVIS, BUT IN SEVERAL OF THE LETTERS, SHE COMPLAINS ABOUT THE RUSE PROMOTED BY HER MOTHER AND THE STUDIO TO MAINTAIN HER GIRL NEXT DOOR IMAGE. IN A 10 PAGE LETTER DATED 1.APRIL, SHE DESCRIBES HER REACTION TO DAVIS ACCIDENTALLY BREAKING A PAIR OF EARRINGS PAWLEY HAD GIVEN HER. 'I HAVE NEVER HAD SUCH A STRONG DESIRE TO HIT ANYONE WITH ALL MY MIGHT IN ALL MY LIFE', SHE WROTE. 'I GAVE HIM BACK HIS 'A' PIN, THE FOOTBALL AND HIS ALL-AMERICAN SWEATER ... I DON'T CARE WHAT THEY SAY ANYMORE ... FROM NOW ON I', GOING TO LIVE MY LIFE THE WAY I WANT TO.' IN MAY, SHE TOLD PAWLEY SHE WAS READY TO SAY GOODBYE TO HER CAREER AND EVERYTHING CONNECTED WITH IT, 'FOR I WON'T BE GIVING ANYTHING UP - BUT I WILL BE GAINING THE GREATEST GIFT THAT GOD BESTOWS ON MAN - LOVE, MARRIAGE, A FAMILY - AND YOU MY DARLING.' BY SEPTEMBER, HOWEVER, TAYLOR WAS WRITING ABOUT RETURNING HER ENGAGEMENT RING AT PAWLEY'S REQUEST. 'I KNOW WITH ALL MY HEART AND SOUL THAT THIS IS NOT THE END FOR US - IT COULDN'T BE - WE LOVE EACH OTHER TOO MUCH', SHE WROTE. LESS THAN EIGHT MONTHS LATER, SHE MARRIED HOTEL HEIR CONRAD 'NICKY' HILTON. THE ONLINE AUCTION, SET FOR 19-26.MAY, WILL ALSO FEATURE LETTERS TAYLOR'S MOTHER WROTE TO PAWLEY AFTER THE ENGAGEMENT ENDED, INCLUDING ONE IN WHICH SHE WROTE, 'YOU HAVE A NERVOUS CONDITION AND A PROBLEM WITH JEALOUSY, AS SUCH YOU AND ELIZABETH CAN NEVER BE TOGETHER.' BOBBY LIVINGSTON, SPOKESMAN FOR THE AUCTION HOUSE, SAID THE LETTERS WERE ESTIMATED AT $25,000 TO $35,000 BEFORE TAYLOR'S DEATH, AND HE EXPECTS THEY COULD FETCH TWO OR THREE TIMES THAT AMOUNT.

ELIZABETH TAYLOR'S LOVE LETTERS TO BE AUCTIONED

BEFORE BECOMING A BRIDE EIGHT TIMES OVER, ELIZABETH TAYLOR WAS A 17 YEAR OLD STARLET SCRIBBLING LETTERS TO HER FIRST FIANCE, CHARTING ON PALE PINK STATIONARY HIS PROGRESSION FROM HER ONE AND ONLY TO THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY. 'I'VE NEVER KNOWN THIS KIND OF LOVE BEFORE - IT'S SO PERFECT AND COMPLETE - AND MATURE', TAYLOR WROTE TO WILLIAM PAWLEY ON 6.MAY.1949. 'I'VE NEVER LOVED ANYONE IN MY LIFE BEFORE ONE THIRD AS MUCH AS I LOVE YOU - AND I NEVER WILL (WELL, AS FAR AS THAT GORES - I'LL NEVER LOVE ANYONE ELSE - PERIOD!) TAYLOR, WHO DIED LAST WEEK AT AGE 79, WAS ENGAGED TO PAWLEY IN 1949, JUST BEFORE HER FIRST MARRIAGE. MORE THAN 60 OF THE LETTERS SHE WROTE HIM BETWEEN MARCH AND OCTOBER OF THAT YEAR WILL BE AUCTIONED IN MAY BY RR AUCTIONS OF AMHERST, N.H. IT BOUGHT THE LETTERS TWO YEARS AGO FROM PAWLEY, WHO LIVES IN FLORIDA. THE UNPUBLISHED LETTERS - SOME WRITTEN IN PURPLE FOUNTAIN INK ON PINK PAPER - PROVIDE A GLIMPSE OF A TEENAGER'S TRANSITION TO ADULT STAR. SHE FRETS ABOUT HER WEIGHT ('AS I'M SITTING HERE - WRITING TO YOU, I'M JUST STUFFING MYSELF ON A BOX OF CANDY - HONESTLY I'VE GOT TO STOP EATING SO MUCH') AND PASSING HER HIGH SCHOOL EXAMS. AND SHE CONTRASTS TWO MOVIES SHE WAS DOING AT THE TIME, 'A PLACE IN THE SUN' AND 'THE BIG HANGOVER', PRAISING THE DIRECTOR OF THE FORMER AND COMPLAINING ABOUT HER ROLE IN THE LATTER. BUT MOSTLY, SHE GUSHES ABOUT PAWLEY, THE 22 YEAR OLD SON OF A FORMER AMBASSADOR TO BRAZIL, REASSURING HIM OVER AND OVER THAT HER LOVE IS TRUE. 'MY HEART ACHES & MAKES ME WANT TO CRY WHEN I THINK OF YOU, AND HOW MUCH I WANT TO BE WITH YOU AND TO LOOK INTO YOUR BEAUTIFUL BLUE EYES, AND KISS YOUR SWEET LIPS AND HAVE YOUR STRONG ARMS HOLD ME, OH SO TIGHT, & CLOSE TO YOU ... I WANT US TO BE 'LOVERS' ALWAYS ... EVEN AFTER WE'VE BEEN MARRIED SEVENTY FIVE YEARS AND HAVE AT LEAST A DOZEN GREAT-GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN', SHE WROTE ON 28.MARCH. AT THE TIME, TAYLOR WAS PUBLICLY DATING FOOTBALL PLAYER GLENN DAVIS, BUT IN SEVERAL OF THE LETTERS, SHE COMPLAINS ABOUT THE RUSE PROMOTED BY HER MOTHER AND THE STUDIO TO MAINTAIN HER GIRL NEXT DOOR IMAGE. IN A 10 PAGE LETTER DATED 1.APRIL, SHE DESCRIBES HER REACTION TO DAVIS ACCIDENTALLY BREAKING A PAIR OF EARRINGS PAWLEY HAD GIVEN HER. 'I HAVE NEVER HAD SUCH A STRONG DESIRE TO HIT ANYONE WITH ALL MY MIGHT IN ALL MY LIFE', SHE WROTE. 'I GAVE HIM BACK HIS 'A' PIN, THE FOOTBALL AND HIS ALL-AMERICAN SWEATER ... I DON'T CARE WHAT THEY SAY ANYMORE ... FROM NOW ON I', GOING TO LIVE MY LIFE THE WAY I WANT TO.' IN MAY, SHE TOLD PAWLEY SHE WAS READY TO SAY GOODBYE TO HER CAREER AND EVERYTHING CONNECTED WITH IT, 'FOR I WON'T BE GIVING ANYTHING UP - BUT I WILL BE GAINING THE GREATEST GIFT THAT GOD BESTOWS ON MAN - LOVE, MARRIAGE, A FAMILY - AND YOU MY DARLING.' BY SEPTEMBER, HOWEVER, TAYLOR WAS WRITING ABOUT RETURNING HER ENGAGEMENT RING AT PAWLEY'S REQUEST. 'I KNOW WITH ALL MY HEART AND SOUL THAT THIS IS NOT THE END FOR US - IT COULDN'T BE - WE LOVE EACH OTHER TOO MUCH', SHE WROTE. LESS THAN EIGHT MONTHS LATER, SHE MARRIED HOTEL HEIR CONRAD 'NICKY' HILTON. THE ONLINE AUCTION, SET FOR 19-26.MAY, WILL ALSO FEATURE LETTERS TAYLOR'S MOTHER WROTE TO PAWLEY AFTER THE ENGAGEMENT ENDED, INCLUDING ONE IN WHICH SHE WROTE, 'YOU HAVE A NERVOUS CONDITION AND A PROBLEM WITH JEALOUSY, AS SUCH YOU AND ELIZABETH CAN NEVER BE TOGETHER.' BOBBY LIVINGSTON, SPOKESMAN FOR THE AUCTION HOUSE, SAID THE LETTERS WERE ESTIMATED AT $25,000 TO $35,000 BEFORE TAYLOR'S DEATH, AND HE EXPECTS THEY COULD FETCH TWO OR THREE TIMES THAT AMOUNT.

ELIZABETH TAYLOR'S LOVE LETTERS TO BE AUCTIONED

A COLLECTION OF FREDERIC CHOPIN'S LETTERS TELLING OF THE POLISH COMPOSER'S DAILY LIFE, FROM GIVING LESSONS TO THE HOT CHOCOLATE HE DRANK, HAVE GONE ON DISPLAY IN WARSAW'S CHOPIN MUSEUM MORE THAN SIX DECADES AFTER THEY WENT MISSING. THE SIX LETTERS WRITTEN BY CHOPIN TO HIS PARENTS AND SISTERS BACK HOME IN WARSAW IN 1845-1848 ARE THE CENTERPIECE OF THE EXHIBIT THAT OPENED THURSDAY. IT WILL RUN FOR ONE MONTH AFTER WHICH THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO RESEARCHERS. THE COLLECTION ALSO INCLUDES LETTERS FROM THE PIANO COMPOSER'S SCOTTISH PUPIL JANE STIRLING TO CHOPIN'S SISTER, AS WELL AS OTHER ITEMS, SUCH AS A TICKET FOR A REHEARSAL CONCERT ON 26.JULY.1840. ALTHOUGH THE CONTENTS OF THE LETTERS WERE KNOWN TO RESEARCHERS, THE ORIGINALS WERE BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN LOST OR DESTROYED DURING WORLD WAR II. 'THIS IS A GREAT DAY FOR US. THIS IS AN INVALUABLE COLLECTION THAT WE HAVE ACQUIRED', MUSEUM CURATOR ALICJA KNAST TOLD A NEWS CONFERENCE. HE SAID THAT UNTIL 1939 THE COLLECTION WAS IN THE HANDS OF LAURA CIECHOMSKA, A GRANDNIECE OF CHOPIN'S. WORD EMERGED IN 2003 THAT THE LETTERS EXISTED AND THAT A POLISH EMIGRE ART DEALER LIVING IN MEXICO, MAREK KELLER, WAS TO BUY THEM. HE THEN DONATED THEM TO THE MUSEUM. MUSEUM AUTHORITIES REFUSED TO DISCLOSE THE NAME OF THE COLLECTOR WHO HAD THEM OR THE FATE OF THE ITEMS SINCE 1939, HONORING THE COLLECTOR'S REQUEST TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS. KNAST SAID ALL THE ITEMS WERE CONFIRMED AS AUTHENTIC BEFORE THEY WERE BOUGHT FOR AN UNDISCLOSED SUM OF MONEY. CHOPIN WAS BORN IN POLAND IN 1810 TO A FRENCH FATHER AND A POLISH MOTHER, AND SPENT THE FIRST HALF OF HIS LIFE IN POLAND. DURING THE SECOND HALF HE LIVED IN FRANCE, WHERE HE WON FAME WITH HIS COMPOSITIONS, MOSTLY FOR THE PIANO, AND HIS POPULAR CONCERTS. HE DIED IN PARIS IN 1849.

CHOPIN MUSEUM TO PRESENT A COLLECTION OF FREDERIC CHOPIN'S LETTERS

A COLLECTION OF FREDERIC CHOPIN'S LETTERS TELLING OF THE POLISH COMPOSER'S DAILY LIFE, FROM GIVING LESSONS TO THE HOT CHOCOLATE HE DRANK, HAVE GONE ON DISPLAY IN WARSAW'S CHOPIN MUSEUM MORE THAN SIX DECADES AFTER THEY WENT MISSING. THE SIX LETTERS WRITTEN BY CHOPIN TO HIS PARENTS AND SISTERS BACK HOME IN WARSAW IN 1845-1848 ARE THE CENTERPIECE OF THE EXHIBIT THAT OPENED THURSDAY. IT WILL RUN FOR ONE MONTH AFTER WHICH THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO RESEARCHERS. THE COLLECTION ALSO INCLUDES LETTERS FROM THE PIANO COMPOSER'S SCOTTISH PUPIL JANE STIRLING TO CHOPIN'S SISTER, AS WELL AS OTHER ITEMS, SUCH AS A TICKET FOR A REHEARSAL CONCERT ON 26.JULY.1840. ALTHOUGH THE CONTENTS OF THE LETTERS WERE KNOWN TO RESEARCHERS, THE ORIGINALS WERE BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN LOST OR DESTROYED DURING WORLD WAR II. 'THIS IS A GREAT DAY FOR US. THIS IS AN INVALUABLE COLLECTION THAT WE HAVE ACQUIRED', MUSEUM CURATOR ALICJA KNAST TOLD A NEWS CONFERENCE. HE SAID THAT UNTIL 1939 THE COLLECTION WAS IN THE HANDS OF LAURA CIECHOMSKA, A GRANDNIECE OF CHOPIN'S. WORD EMERGED IN 2003 THAT THE LETTERS EXISTED AND THAT A POLISH EMIGRE ART DEALER LIVING IN MEXICO, MAREK KELLER, WAS TO BUY THEM. HE THEN DONATED THEM TO THE MUSEUM. MUSEUM AUTHORITIES REFUSED TO DISCLOSE THE NAME OF THE COLLECTOR WHO HAD THEM OR THE FATE OF THE ITEMS SINCE 1939, HONORING THE COLLECTOR'S REQUEST TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS. KNAST SAID ALL THE ITEMS WERE CONFIRMED AS AUTHENTIC BEFORE THEY WERE BOUGHT FOR AN UNDISCLOSED SUM OF MONEY. CHOPIN WAS BORN IN POLAND IN 1810 TO A FRENCH FATHER AND A POLISH MOTHER, AND SPENT THE FIRST HALF OF HIS LIFE IN POLAND. DURING THE SECOND HALF HE LIVED IN FRANCE, WHERE HE WON FAME WITH HIS COMPOSITIONS, MOSTLY FOR THE PIANO, AND HIS POPULAR CONCERTS. HE DIED IN PARIS IN 1849.

CHOPIN MUSEUM TO PRESENT A COLLECTION OF FREDERIC CHOPIN'S LETTERS

A PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN COPY OF A VERY RARE BOOK OF EARLY POEMS BY WILLIAM BLAKE IS UP FOR AUCTION AT THE BOOKS, MAPS, MANUSCRIPTS AND HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPHS SALE AT BONHAMS IN LONDON ON 22.MARCH. IT IS ESTIMATED AT BETWEEN £60,000-80,000. THE POEMS IN POETICAL SKETCHES WERE WRITTEN BETWEEN 1768 AND 1777 WHEN BLAKE WAS IN HIS TEENS. IN 1783, A GROUP OF HIS FRIENDS BANDED TOGETHER AND PAID FOR THEM TO BE PRINTED IN A SLIM 70 PAGE VOLUME. APPROXIMATELY 50 COPIES WERE PRINTED BUT THE WHEREABOUTS OF ONLY 20 ARE KNOWN SO THE DISCOVERY OF THIS COPY, ONE OF A VERY FEW IN PRIVATE HANDS, IS HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT. BLAKE WAS GIVEN THE PRINT RUN TO SELL OR GIVE AWAY BUT HE SEEMS NOT TO HAVE BEEN VERY ACTIVE IN PROMOTING THEM BECAUSE SEVERAL COPIES WERE FOUND AMONG HIS POSSESSIONS WHEN HE DIED. HIS FRIENDS, WHO INCLUDED THE SCULPTOR JOHN FLAXMAN, WERE KEEN TO SPREAD THE WORD OF BLAKE'S TALENT AND GAVE SOME VOLUMES AWAY ON HIS BEHALF BUT THE COPY FOR AUCTION WAS ACTUALLY GIVEN BY BLAKE HIMSELF. IT CARRIES HIS INSCRIPTION AND HIS ADDRESS NEAR LEICESTER FIELDS (PRESENT DAY LEICESTER SQUARE) WHERE HE LIVED FROM 1782 UNTIL JULY 1784, SO HE MUST HAVE GIVEN THE COPY AWAY FAIRLY SOON AFTER IT WAS PRINTED. THE IDENTITY OF THE RECIPIENT IS NOT KNOWN. THE BOOK ITSELF WAS LITTERED WITH ERRORS, SOME OF WHICH BLAKE CORRECTED BEFORE HANDING COPIES OUT. ALTHOUGH IT NEVER WENT INTO COMMERCIAL PUBLICATION DURING BLAKE'S LIFETIME, THE BOOK, WHICH INCLUDES WORKS SUCH AS 'MAD SONG' AND 'TO THE EVENING STAR' IS SEEN AS A SIGNIFICANT PART OF HIS OUTPUT, ANTICIPATING THE STYLE OF HIS MATURE WORK AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIS SYMBOLIC LANGUAGE.

BONHAMS TO SELL RARE BOOK OF EARLY POEMS BY WILLIAM BLAKE

A PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN COPY OF A VERY RARE BOOK OF EARLY POEMS BY WILLIAM BLAKE IS UP FOR AUCTION AT THE BOOKS, MAPS, MANUSCRIPTS AND HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPHS SALE AT BONHAMS IN LONDON ON 22.MARCH. IT IS ESTIMATED AT BETWEEN £60,000-80,000. THE POEMS IN POETICAL SKETCHES WERE WRITTEN BETWEEN 1768 AND 1777 WHEN BLAKE WAS IN HIS TEENS. IN 1783, A GROUP OF HIS FRIENDS BANDED TOGETHER AND PAID FOR THEM TO BE PRINTED IN A SLIM 70 PAGE VOLUME. APPROXIMATELY 50 COPIES WERE PRINTED BUT THE WHEREABOUTS OF ONLY 20 ARE KNOWN SO THE DISCOVERY OF THIS COPY, ONE OF A VERY FEW IN PRIVATE HANDS, IS HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT. BLAKE WAS GIVEN THE PRINT RUN TO SELL OR GIVE AWAY BUT HE SEEMS NOT TO HAVE BEEN VERY ACTIVE IN PROMOTING THEM BECAUSE SEVERAL COPIES WERE FOUND AMONG HIS POSSESSIONS WHEN HE DIED. HIS FRIENDS, WHO INCLUDED THE SCULPTOR JOHN FLAXMAN, WERE KEEN TO SPREAD THE WORD OF BLAKE'S TALENT AND GAVE SOME VOLUMES AWAY ON HIS BEHALF BUT THE COPY FOR AUCTION WAS ACTUALLY GIVEN BY BLAKE HIMSELF. IT CARRIES HIS INSCRIPTION AND HIS ADDRESS NEAR LEICESTER FIELDS (PRESENT DAY LEICESTER SQUARE) WHERE HE LIVED FROM 1782 UNTIL JULY 1784, SO HE MUST HAVE GIVEN THE COPY AWAY FAIRLY SOON AFTER IT WAS PRINTED. THE IDENTITY OF THE RECIPIENT IS NOT KNOWN. THE BOOK ITSELF WAS LITTERED WITH ERRORS, SOME OF WHICH BLAKE CORRECTED BEFORE HANDING COPIES OUT. ALTHOUGH IT NEVER WENT INTO COMMERCIAL PUBLICATION DURING BLAKE'S LIFETIME, THE BOOK, WHICH INCLUDES WORKS SUCH AS 'MAD SONG' AND 'TO THE EVENING STAR' IS SEEN AS A SIGNIFICANT PART OF HIS OUTPUT, ANTICIPATING THE STYLE OF HIS MATURE WORK AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIS SYMBOLIC LANGUAGE.

BONHAMS TO SELL RARE BOOK OF EARLY POEMS BY WILLIAM BLAKE

RARE, LAVISHLY-ILLUSTRATED MANUSCRIPTS FROM THE SISTINE CHAPEL THAT WERE RESCUED FROM NAPOLEON'S ARMY, ONLY TO FALL UNDER THE RADAR SCREEN OF ART HISTORY FOR TWO CENTURIES, HAVE RECENTLY GONE ON DISPLAY IN DALLAS. THE EXHIBIT AT SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY'S MEADOWS MUSEUM, WHICH RUNS UNTIL 23.APRIL, IS THE ONLY CHANCE FOR THE US PUBLIC TO SEE THE STUNNING, HAND-MADE CODICES OR MANUSCRIPTS. 'THE LOST MANUSCRIPTS FROM THE SISTINE CHAPEL: AN EPIC JOURNEY FROM ROME TO TOLEDO' FEATURES 40 CODICES THAT RANGE IN DATE FROM THE 11th TO THE 18th CENTURY. THESE WERE IN THE SACRISTY OF THE SISTINE CHAPEL SO THESE WERE THE MOST PRIVATE BOOKS READ BY THE POPES AND CARDINALS AT VERY SPECIAL CEREMONIES. THERE ARE SOME CODICES HERE THAT MICHELANGELO WOULD HAVE HEARD OR READ FROM', SAID MEADOWS DIRECTOR MARK ROGLAN. ASIDE FROM THEIR ARTISTIC VALUE, THE WRITINGS IN THE CODICES ARE LITURGICAL TREASURE TROVES WHICH INCLUDE BLESSINGS, MISSALS AND PREPARATIONS FOR MASSES. THEIR JOURNEY TO DALLAS HAS BEEN IMPROBABLE. THEY WERE LOOTED AT THE END OF THE 18th CENTURY FROM THE VATICAN BY NAPOLEON'S RAMPAGING ARMIES AND MANY WERE SLICED AND DICED AND SOLD IN FRAGMENTS. BUT THE HEROIC EFFORTS OF THE ARCHBISHOP OF TOLEDO ENABLED MANY OF THEM TO BE RESCUED, THOUGH OVER THE YEARS THEY WERE LARGELY FORGOTTEN. THEIR REDISCOVERY OCCURRED IN 1997 WHEN ART HISTORIAN ELENA DE LAURENTIIS, OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GENOA, STUMBLED UPON A PHOTOGRAPH OF ONE OF THE CODICES IN AN ARCHIVE AND RECOGNIZED ITS SIGNIFICANCE. THE MANUSCRIPTS ARE EYE-CATCHING, WITH THEIR ELEGANT HAND-WRITTEN SCRIPT, STUNNING IMAGES AND BEAUTIFUL BINDINGS. ONE ARRESTING AND COLOURFUL ILLUSTRATION FROM THE LATE 15th CENTURY IN INK, PIGMENT AND GOLD ON VELLUM DEPICTS THE CRUCIFIXION, A COMMON MOTIF.

MEADOWS MUSEUM PRESENTS 'THE LOST MANUSCRIPTS FROM THE SISTINE CHAPEL'