November 7 Monday – Sam wrote from Hartford to Karl and Hattie Gerhardt, with a note to Charles Ethan Porter (1847/8-1923), a black painter born in the Hartford area, now famous for his fruit and flower paintings. Sam may have also given Porter financial assistance to get him to Paris and was later concerned about remarks made by Hattie Gerhardt that Porter “had gone to the dogs.” (See May 1 & 3 1883 letter to Gerhardt.)

“It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you a friend of mine, Mr. Charles E. Porter, citizen of Hartford, who comes to Paris to continue his studies in painting…I am satisfied that he is worthy of your & their kind attentions & will prove it by his conduct & his appreciation” [MTP]. Note: Porter was able to enroll the same year in the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs in Paris and studied from 1881 to 1884, often painting in the countryside. Toward the end of his life, Porter’s fortunes declined and he peddled his paintings door-to-door, trading them for food or flowers to paint. He died in Rockville, Conn.

Christian B. Tauchnitz, Jr. wrote to Sam. His father was “a member of the upper chamber at Dresden,” so was away. He thanked Sam for his letter of Oct. 10. He’d corresponded with Chatto & Windus about P&P and offered Sam £75 to make his edition of it. Would Sam advise? [MTP].