January 13 Thursday – In Hartford Sam wrote to Charles Webster, excited about a new book possibility, that of William Thompson Walters, proposed by William Mackay Laffan — a full color art book. Walters was “a Baltimore merchant and railroad and steamship developer,” who had a “vast art collection” [MTNJ 3: 273n157].

IF Mr. W. will put up all of the necessary money (receiving it back out of the first returns,) that book is a greenback-mine. I got delayed & didn’t get down to L’s after my talk with you; so you better arrange a meeting per telephone, & go down & talk with him. This isn’t a “big” thing — it calls for Pond’s word: “colossal.” [MTBus 374].

Samuel Charles Webster identifies “Mr. W” and also “L” in this letter and observes:

“Walters was ready to spend as much as two hundred and fifty thousand dollars on the book. [¶]. …Uncle Sam was completely sold on the idea — perhaps because he was interested in color printing — and called on my mother [Annie Moffett Webster] expressly to get her interested in the project, although she had never attempted to understand anything connected with the publishing business. I asked her why my father didn’t care for the book, and she said that he didn’t think it would pay.” Note: it was not published until 1897, “long after the death of Webster and Mr. Walters, too” [MTBus 374-5; MTLTP 213n1].

Pamela Moffett wrote from N.Y. to her brother Sam, sending two photos of her son, “Sam’s fiancé for your inspection.” Pamela was staying with her daughter Annie Webster and family in the City, and wrote of Charles’ neuralgia attack “in his head” the night before “but relieved it entirely by the application of ice.” Her grandson Willie had been sick with a cold necessitating a visit from the doctor. [MTP].