Porter Cole

Cole Porter TLS Regarding S.S. Franconia Around-the-World Working Cruise


1p TLS signed by American songwriter and composer Cole Porter (1891-1964) as "Cole" at bottom. On "Cole Porter" letterhead, listing Porter's addresses in New York, London, and Paris at top. Dated December 15, 1934. The watermarked cream paper is in near fine condition, with expected paper folds, 8.5" x 11".


Porter wrote close personal friend and actor Clifton Webb on the eve of a lengthy trip: "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 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."


Porter, his wife Linda, playwright Moss Hart (1904-1961), and a coterie of friends and associates including actor Monty Woolley took an 18-week-long world-wide cruise aboard the Cunard passenger steamer S.S. Franconia in mid-January 1935. Porter and Hart hoped that their travel experiences would inspire future work. The 38,000-mile-long journey included 35 ports of call and resulted in the musical Jubilee, which premiered on Broadway in 1935. The musical comedy about a fictional European royal family featured hits like "Just One of Those Things" and "Begin the Beguine," this last composed somewhere around Fiji!


Porter continued: "I can imagine nothing more awful than writing songs for you for your next picture...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." Here, Porter referenced Webb's next MGM vehicle Elegance. In the film, Webb was to portray Swiss ballroom dancer Maurice Mouvet and Joan Crawford his wife and partner Florence Walton. The picture was never filmed, despite Webb's 18-month-long $3,000/week contract with the movie studio.


Cole wrote that the New York social scene was much changed since Webb's departure. "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..."


Laura Corrigan and Barbara Mdvani nee Hutton were well-known American socialites. They, along with other beautiful celebrities and bizarre personalities, would have peopled the epic parties that Porter and Webb would have attended. Porter, who along with Webb, was gay, ends his garrulous letter with the parting jibe: "Blessings on you my boy, and please don't marry Gloria Swanson. Love, Cole."


Cole Porter was a classically trained musician who composed music and lyrics for Broadway and Hollywood alike. Porter's musical output was prolific during the late 1920s and 1930s. He averaged between one to three smashes almost every year between 1928 and 1939, some hits appearing in the same musical. While his Broadway career peaked in the 1930s, with the aberration of Kiss Me, Kate in 1948, Porter continued composing movie scores well into the late 1950s.


A comical letter showing the professional and personal relationship between Porter and Webb. A good friend of Porter's for decades, Webb worked mostly as a singer and dancer on Broadway in the 1920s and 30s before his film career blossomed in the forties in such Oscar-nominated movies as Laura (1944), The Razor's Edge (1946), and Sitting Pretty (1948). He won a Golden Globe Award in 1947 for his performance in The Razor's Edge.


This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.


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