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TLS signed “F. LL. W,” one page, 5.25 x 8.5, red 'Taliesen' box letterhead, January 2, 1952. Letter to his San Francisco representative, Aaron Green, who is overseeing the construction of the Mrs. Clinton Walker House in Carmel, California. In full: “Holidays here with everything knocked to pieces have been hectic, naturally. Received your nice letter and the golden tumblers and I appreciate the sentiments you send, much – I assure you. The press is unusually unreceptive. Stupid, I should say. Sending some money. Most is going out now but when I go East early February it will be coming, I believe. Mrs. Walker writes [the fireplace] ‘leaks and smokes.’ See enclosed copy of my letter to her. The damper is, probably, the trouble. Send sketch of how done. Should be no trouble to fix the chimney. Why not motor down soon with Jean and whomever of the sisters will come?” In fine condition.
Accompanied by four retained typed letters and three original telegrams. The letters date from May 1951 to January 1952, with each mentioning the trouble-making fireplace. In 1951, Green writes to Wright: “She likes the house, except the fireplace…claims that it still smokes out but that she will never install a copper hood." In June 1951, a colleague from Taliesin relays to Green a sketch of the fireplace and states: "We should have let you know Mr. Wright's plans — but as a matter of fact, no one knew exactly what the plans were until only a short time ago.” In August 1951, Green again writes to Wright: “The revised design for Mrs. Walker's fireplace is certainly fine. We phoned her in Tahoe that we were proceeding with its construction.” And in January 1952, Green reports: “Submitted drawing of apron-addition to Mrs. Walker and that should stop the smoke.”
The three Western Union telegrams are dated to 1951, with one from Wright reading: “Ceiling drawings satisfactory floor should be designed bathroom same sending details for wall and gates better make special brick for Matthew.”
Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Walker House—his only oceanfront residence—for Della Walker in Carmel-by-the-Sea in 1954, completing the single-story home in 1952. A widow, Walker requested a design that offered privacy and protection while remaining ‘as enduring as the rocks’ yet ‘as transparent and charming as the waves.’ Wright conceived the house as a ‘cabin on the rocks,’ integrating it into the surrounding seascape with low horizontal lines, ocean-facing casement windows, Cherokee-red steel framing, and a blue-green tile roof. The ocean serves as both inspiration and focal point, with nearly every room oriented toward the water; as Wright observed, ‘the long white surf lines of the sea seem to join the lines of the house to make a natural melody.’
From the personal collection of a lifelong collector, teacher, and traveler with a passion for world history. His collecting years ranged from the 1970s to the present day, meaning that several of the premier pieces have not been on the market in decades.
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