DLA007-0066 Transcription

GREENHILL.

ROWNHAMS,

Nr SOUTHAMPTON

Oct. 9. [19]12

Dear Monsieur de László

It is so very kind of you to say that I may come to your studio at the end of the month. I cannot get up to London before the 28th or 29th – so hope Oct. 30th will be a possible date for you for the first sitting [10003].^[1] Mother is with us here now

[Page 2]

& we are enjoying these golden autumn days, which remind us almost of Hungary!^[2] It is delightful having a little garden of ones very own - & my husband is alright again after his manoeuvres - so all is well for us now?

We are so anxious to hear good news from you – which I hope will be the arrival of a dear little girl.^[3]

With love to Mdme de László | Yours very sincerely

Irène Vernon Harcourt

SMDL

11/10/2017

[1] See DLA007-0065 in which the author postpones sitting for de László as her husband had been the victim of a motor accident.

[2] According to the 1901 census, the sender’s mother was born in Hungary in 1864. Her name was possibly Alexandrine.

[3] When Lucy fell pregnant in early 1912, both she and de László had hoped that their sixth child would be a girl as their only daughter, Eva, who was born in May 1903, tragically died that August having been made ill by a breastmilk replacement. Lucy ultimately gave birth to a boy, John Adolphus de Laszlo [11622], who was born on 20th October 1912.