Description:

Porter Cole 1891 - 1964 "Goodbye and love to all my playthings" - Cole Porter Archive of Musical Manuscripts, Lyrics, and Autograph Letters
Autograph letter on two sheets of Carlton Hotel letterhead, 4 pages, 5.5" x 7", undated, with original envelope postmarked Lyon, June 16, 1928; autograph musical score titled "Refrain Maid of Mystery", 1 page, 10.5" x 9"; autograph musical score titled "Maid of Mystery / Introduction" (1 page, 10.5" x 14"; autograph musical score titled "Transition from Maria vocal to dance" (1 page, 9.25" x 12.5"; autograph lyrics beginning "Looking at you while troubles are fleeing", 1 page on verso of a telegraph blank from the Princess Hotel, Paris, 5.5" x 11"; original telegram stamped March 17, 1928, 9 x 4.5"; typed letter signed on Porter's letterhead, December 15, 1934, 1 page, 8.5" x 11"; autograph note signed on Waldorf-Astoria letterhead, 1 page, 8.5" x 11", undated.


Superb collection of letters, musical manuscripts, and lyrics from Cole Porter to actor Clifton Webb, including an autograph signed letter, an autograph signed note, a typed signed letter, part of the unpublished musical score of "Maid of Mystery" completely in Cole Porter's hand, an original telegraph from Porter to Webb with the lyrics of "Maid of Mystery" and the lyrics for the song "Looking at You" also in Porter's hand. This extraordinary archive contains material from 1928 and 1934, all of it related to the professional and personal relationship between Porter and the actor and singer Clifton Webb. A good friend of Porter's for decades, Webb worked mostly on Broadway in the 1920's and 30's before his film career blossomed in the forties in such movies as Laura (1944), The Razor's Edge (1946), and Sitting Pretty (1948). His performances in those three films earned him Academy Award nominations; he won a Golden Globe Award in 1947 for his performance in The Razor's Edge.

In 1928, after hearing George Gershwin's sister Frances sing at a party, Porter included her in a revue he was involved with in Paris at the Caf̩ des Ambassadeurs, produced by Edmond Sayag and featuring Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians as the band. She was to sing a medley of songs by her more famous brothers, with an introduction written by Porter ("I happen to be the sister / of a rhythm twister..."). For the opening night performance, George Gershwin himself accompanied his sister on the piano. "The opening of La Revue des Ambassadeurs was brilliant and set the style for the many Porter opening nights to come. People sat at tables and there were many standees. One paper predicted that the Caf̩ des Ambassadeurs 'will be the great rendezvous for those in search of late night evening amusements from now until the end of the season.' Celebratory parties were given all over Paris, hosted by such notables as Elsa Maxwell, the Prince and Princesse de Polignac, Lady Cunard, and William Randolph Hearst (whose guests included Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt)... Eventually Clifton Webb and Dorothy Dickson joined the cast, and they inspired Porter to write one of his loveliest songs," (McBrien, Cole Porter, 119), titled "Looking at You."

This archive bears testament to that friendship and that production in particular, and demonstrates that "Looking at You" was not the original number Webb was intended to perform. An undated autograph letter to Webb, signed by Porter and on stationery of the Carlton Hotel in Lyon, reads: "Dear Clifton -- I am sending you the refrain of your song. You should have a copy made by Olivier, chez Durand, music shop, Place de la Madeleine. He is the head copyist there. Keep one copy for rehearsal & give the other to Tom Waring & pet him into doing it for his band. I will send the verse and the lyric as soon as finished. Also tell Leteutre[?], Sayag's secretary, to put this on the program -- this title Maid of Mystery. And when you have done all these things, take your finger and stick it up your ass. My address is Chateau de Gourdon, Gourdon-par-le-Bar, Alpes Maritines. Goodbye & love to all my playthings. Cole. Saturday morning." Following this are two leaves of music, with 48 bars of notation, one page labeled "Introduction" and one "Refrain" for "Maid of Mystery." On the recto of the "Introduction" is a note, probably addressed to Fred Waring's brother Tom -- it was actually Tom, and not Fred, who started the band -- "Tom -- Please get an oriental effect in this verse. Also, in refrain, in measures 1, 5, 17, and 21, dot the second note of the melody as indicated *." A further clue as to the lyrics of Maid of Mystery comes in the form of an original telegraph from Porter dated March 1928, reading: "Oh Maid of Mystery, let me guard your secret. Oh Maid of Mystery tell me who you are neath your incognito are you someone I know, or some princess from lands afar[?] Are you Proserpiny from the realms infernal or are you Venus dear and a star divine[?] Just remove your disguise, let me gaze in your eyes, oh mysterious maid be mine."

But "Maid of Mystery" remains a bit of a mystery, apparently never publicly performed, and still unpublished. Instead, it was replaced by "Looking at You," a song Porter was so fond of he also included it in the 1929 revue Wake Up and Dream. This archive includes a page of the song's lyrics, written on the back of a telegram for from the Princess Hotel in Paris: "Looking at you while troubles are fleeing, / I'm admiring the view 'cause it's you I'm seeing, / And the sweet honey-dew of well-being / settles upon me. / What is this light that shines when you enter / Like a star in the night, and what's to prevent her / From destroying my sight, if you center / All of it on me? / Looking at you, I'm filled with the essence of / the quintessence of / joy. / Looking at you, I hear poets tellin' of / Lovely Helen of / Troy. / Darling, life seemed so grey / I wanted to end it / 'Till that wonderful day, you started to mend it, / And if you'll only stay then / I'll spent it / Looking at you."

The later material in this archive includes a 1934 typed letter signed by Porter to Webb, an autograph letter signed by Porter, and one sheet of autograph music (40 bars total) for a song titled "Maria," also apparently unpublished. The typed letter, on Porter's personal stationery and dated December 15, 1934, reads: "Dear Cliff, I can imagine nothing more awful than writing songs for you for your next picture. Moss Hart and I are leaving on a beautiful boat called the 'Franconia,' January 12th, and are going around this funny world of ours. I am very sorry to hear that your health is not so good, but I believe that when you get out in the high spots of the M-G-M studio, everything will be well. It seems to be that it is pretty affected of you not being in New York. The parties are great and they need you. Last night even Frances threw a good one. As for the Maxwell party in honor of none other than myself, it made history. Laura Corrigan is a tremendous event in town. In fact, she has arrived to such an extent that she won't meet Barbara Mdivani. The farewells for Neysa were endless, and finally finished at the George Kauffman's, which was one of the greatest parties I have been to for years. But everybody cried in the corners because you were not there. I hope you will be great in pictures. I arrive back in New York at the end of May and then make for Hollywood for three months to be with Walter Wanger. If things don't work out, I shall be in New York. Blessings on you my boy, and please don't marry Gloria Swanson. Love, Cole." The undated autograph note, on Waldorf-Astoria stationery, reads "Dear Bob -- Don't lose this. It is the only copy. The damn harmonics continue until chords indicate new ones. Cole," and was paper clipped to a leaf of autograph music.

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