Letter from Arthur Little to Ogden Codman Jr. 1892

Transcription of a letter from Arthur Little to Ogden Codman Jr. dated February 7, 1892. The quotation used in exhibition label is in BOLD.

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Feb 17

Dear Ogden

What a splendid / great long letter from you / dated Feb. 2 – N.Y. I suppose / you are back now in the / quiet of Boston – There is a / street here called the “little / street-of-the-naughty-great- / big-wicked-cock”! Whether / it is a two eyed or two balled / one I know not! I know / one which causes its owner / a great deal of trouble and / considerable pleasure!

Bowdoin is not at all good / looking, that is handsome, / but is great fun –

He is so liberal minded

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and can talk Italian like / a native or nearly so!

I bought an old book at the / market this a.m. with a / lot of engravings of guns / and the making of them the / last three (3) pages devoted / to the study of hermaphrodites! / this was in the market I / must look for more – I / have bought the pink & / black satin! B. thinks it “[illeg.] and the most whorish / thing he ever saw”! Mrs. / Hermans [?] “thinks it looks / like Wm. F. Skinner”!?! / Does Skin-Skin look like / a wh____e?! I am glad you / are keeping my letters as / can then explain things

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in them, we might pub- / lish yours and mine in / order! There used to be a / book called “6 Months in / Italy” – we could call / ours “6 Monthleys [?] [illeg.]”!

Feb. 19 – Last night Bowd [and] / I went to the opera, such a / set of people! The men in / the pit coughed and / [illeg.] when the [illeg.] / put up their legs! there / was the dearest little of- / ficer in front of us – !!

I read your letter or parts / of it to B. at his breakfast / this a.m. he snorted over / it – what fun about C. With. [?]! Don’t b—-r

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to [sic] many of the 400! Keep one or two for me! Haven’t been able to s___w / for 10 days but did yes- / terday p.m.! I propose / to teach some of the [illeg.] / (boy) models to say “B_____r / me!” to English men – B – / not ______r thinks it would / be great fun – the thing / would be however I expect / that the poor * (!) boy would / always be accepted!

Your description of N.Y. society / is very amusing / I will show [?] [illeg.] you some [illeg.]

* for poor substitute “lucky”

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There was a woman with a pink & / black low cut waist [?] at the opera / who looked like Mrs Ned Codman! / only not so [illeg] – B. could not token my description of that lady – give her / my love please – Mr. B. is 82 – ! And as / jolly, lively and gay as you can’t imagine / he seems about 50! Mrs. B is charming / must have been beautiful and really / 40 years younger! Mrs. B. is very tall / and handsome – very thin Harry who is / at Cambridge is Ivan says very thin / & has red hair – Mr. B. is a regular / sport – always suggesting B & I should / go to the opera – not the least “Old Man” about him – Is H. Elliot such a screwer / as to make Sally look worn out?

Feb.20

It is 65° today in the shade lovely sun [illeg.] / – I breakfasted in my pajamahs / [illeg.] bath wrap with my window wide / open and afterward shaved and / took a bath with nothing on in the sun – / the sun nearly brought something on / but not quite –

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Feb 21. I can never keep up with you! / Another letter yesterday dated 4th and 5th [?] / Mr. Bowdoin remembers very well he says when / the DePaw (Pau) houses were built old D.P. was a cook in the Count [illeg.] family / and married a daughter of the Count! Why / they let him who can imagine! Mr. B never / went to a ball in all the houses as far as / he can remember – The Dining Rms he says / were down stairs – you would enjoy talking / to him about old times for a man who is / so old and yet so gay he seems as if he must belong / to another time.

I shall have to send this off and begin / again as it has filled up and will be / very old before you get it – I am afraid Mason has “had” “little Charlie” and therefore dis- / courages you about him – for fear you might / discover it! How funny he and S.H. Hooper / must be together!! Any where but mostly in a bed! Have not yet seen T. Topics on / Mrs. Hollis [?] I suppose it will come shortly – / I have found a perfect “swill tub” [?] of Old Chairs / gilt and otherwise not very fine but if I can / buy cheap I shall.

[SKETCH OF A CHAIR]

[To left of sketch]:

Legs fluted and gilt / claw feet –

[To right of sketch]

This is a chair I cant / buy it is a surprise / [illeg.] / there are [illeg.] & gilt [illeg.]

[There is no closing signature to the letter]