Page:Hofstede de Groot catalogue raisonné, Volume 1, 1908.djvu/622

 59 8 JOHANNES VERMEER SECT. Signed on a sheet of paper hanging down from the table in shadow "J. v. Meer" (the J and M intertwined) ; canvas, 27^ inches by 23 inches. The picture was after Vermeer's death in the possession of his widow Catharina Bolmes. Together with the " Lady playing the Guitar," now in the Johnson collection at Philadelphia (26), it was given as security for a debt of 617 florins. Sale, Josua van Belle, Rotterdam, September 6, 1730, No. 92 (155 florins). [Compare 33.] In the collection of Franco van Bleiswijck, Delft ; part of the collection, including this picture, passed by inheritance in 1734 to Hendrik van Slinge- land (the picture was valued first at 75 and then at 100 florins). See Oud Holland, x. 236. In the collection of Hendrik van Slingeland, The Hague, 1752 (Hoet. ii. 408). In the inventory of September 6, 1761, No. 17 (valued at 30 florins by the painter A. Schouman). See Oud Holland, x. 231. In the collection of Miller van Aichholz, Vienna. Sale. E. Secretan, Paris, July I, 1889, No. 140. In the possession of the Paris dealer E. Sedelmeyer, " Catalogue of 300 Paintings," 1898, No. 86. In the Marinoni collection, Paris. In the possession of the Paris dealer F. Kleinberger. In the collection of the late Alfred Beit, London. 35#. The Love Letter. In an interior a page hands a letter to a lady. Panel, 15^ inches by 12^ inches. Sale. Hope Edwardes and others, London, April 27, 1901, No. 79. 36. A Lady Writing. B. 40; H. 43. A well-dressed lady in a morning toilet, having a yellow jacket trimmed with fur, sits writing at a table, on which are a casket and writing materials. She looks at the spectator. Canvas, i8j inches by 14 inches. Sales. (Probably) Amsterdam, May 16, 1696, No. 35 (63 florins). Dr. Luchtmans, Rotterdam, April 20, 1816, No. 90 (70 florins, Lelie). (Probably) J. Kamermans, Rotterdam, October 3, 1825, No. 70 (305 florins) ; said to be only 16 inches high. H. Reydon and others, Amsterdam, April 5, 1827, No. 26. Comte F. de Robiano, Brussels, May i, 1837, No. 436. 37. A GIRL DRINKING, WITH A GENTLEMAN. B. 20 ; H. 23. To the right of a table, placed in the left-hand corner of a spacious room, a girl sits in profile to the left, drinking a glass of wine which a man standing at her side has poured out for her. She wears a red dress ; her face is almost entirely concealed by a white cap. The gentle- man, who almost faces the spectator, looks intently at the girl. He is dressed in grey with a broad-brimmed black hat, and with his right hand grasps a jug standing on the table. A Turkey carpet covers the table, on which lies some music. On a chair in front are a cushion and a guitar. To the left is a cushioned bench, which is foreshortened. On the cool