This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/14/2020
The Signed Cabinet photo is matted and framed and exquisite frame, the photo is signed in ink in the lower left corner. There is a caption printed below the cabinet photo of the Pope Leo XVIII on a printed paper. It states the above portrait of Leo the XVIII was selected by his holiness from his own cabinet and presented with his autograph signature to Mr. Webster Rome July 13, 1886 and Bernard O’Reilly
The photo is accompanied with another set of letters, two letters one which is from the secretary of the Pope and the other is the translation. The letter was written to Charles L. Webster , from Rome November 7, 1887 and says: His holiness appreciating the care you have bestowed upon the publication of the work and titled the life of Leo the XVIII has decided to give you a proof of his pontifical consideration by enrolling you in the night of the order of pious.
What makes this truly unique and special was Webster was actually Mark Twains business manager and was appointed in charge of Twain’s printing ventures. Twain was upset for the delay of publishers and not getting his royalities when due. His solution was to start his own subscription publishing firm. In 1884 he founded Charles L. Webster and Company, which he named after his business agent (and his niece’s husband), who became its director. Clemens hoped to reap the combined benefits of being an author and a publisher.
The new company enjoyed great success with its first two publications, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and the Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant. Sales of the two-volume memoir generated a record-breaking royalty payment of $200,000 for the president’s widow and made Clemens a wealthy man.
But the firm never duplicated its early triumphs, and projects that seemed so promising—like biographies of Pope Leo XIII which this actual signed photo is reproduced and featured in. The biography was written by Bernard O'Reilly with the blessings and help from the Pope. An exaample of the front page in the book is shown in the photos with this lot.
What an incredible piece , a very rare signed photo of the Pope Leo XIII and thatit was part of Twains Publishing company that he started.
Charles Luther Webster (September 24, 1851 – April 28, 1891) served as Mark Twain's business manager and was eventually installed as the head of Twain's publishing company, Charles L. Webster and Co., named for Webster.
Superb 4.75 x 6.5 cabinet portrait of Pope Leo XIII in a splendid half-length pose, signed in the lower border in black ink, "Leo pp. XIII." Published by Fratelli d'Alessandri of Rome. Matted and framed to an overall size 11.75 x 13.25, with lower mat bearing a printed caption: "The above portrait of Leo XIII, was selected by his Holiness from his own cabinet, and presented with his autograph signature to Mr. Webster, Bernard O'Reilly, Rome, July 13, 1866." In fine condition, with light toning to the mat, and some damage to the ornate frame.
Accompanied by a handwritten transmittal letter in Italian from the pontifical secretary, "M. Card. Rompolla," dated November 7, 1887, and addressed to Charles L. Webster, in full (translated): "His Holiness appreciating the care you have bestowed upon the publication of the work entitled 'The Life of Leo XIII' has decided to give you a proof of his Pontifical consideration, by enrolling you as a Knight of the Order of Pius. In sending you the Apostolic Brief conferring on you this dignity, I congratulate you with him, on this well merited honor, and with sentiments of esteem, inscribe myself." The transmittal letter and a full English translation are matted together to an overall size of 16.5 x 11.5. Includes a hardcover edition of Bernard O'Reilly's Life of Leo XIII, which features a representation of this portrait as its frontispiece; at the bottom of the page is a caption, "The above portrait of Leo XIII was selected by His Holiness from his own cabinet, and presented, with his autograph signature, to Mr. Webster expressly for this book."
Samuel L. Clemens hired Charles Luther Webster, the husband of his niece, to serve as his business manager and to oversee the development of his investments for the Kaolatype process for making engraved printing plates. Frustrated with the frequency that publishers delayed his royalties, Clemens started his own publishing company in 1884, placing Webster at the top, naming it in his honor, and then promoting him to full partner in March 1885. However, the relationship between Webster and Clemens soon soured, and by 1888 Webster was removed from the company that retained his name. An exceptionally rare portrait of Leo XIII augmented by its close association with Clemens's short-lived publishing firm.