January–July 1935

THE UNIVERSITY MUSEUM UNIVERSITY of PENNSYLVANIA PHILADELPHIA

February 28, 1935Dr. B. H. Hill Episcopi Limassol, Cyprus

Dear Dr. Hill:-

Your letter of January 25, from Corinth, is at hand. I must begin my reply with an apology for my delay in cabling you about an architect.

For this season at Kourion you will have already received a remittance of $1000. and it is my understanding that Mr. McFadden will finance further expenses of this spring's campaign. You and he will be able to adjust the total extent of this as work progresses. We are reluctant to involve him in unavoidable expenses. Since Mr. McFadden is carrying this heavy charge alone we would have stood behind your proposal to Mr. Julian Whittlesey that he join you as architect-surveyor, but we hesitate to urge upon you the services of his nominees who seemed to have only a passing interest in Hellenic archaeology. Mr. McFadden having approved Mr. Whittlesey's generous offer of time and effort to enquire for other candidates, I was reluctant to turn them down but I feel perhaps you agree with me that it is all for the best to secure someone from the School in Athens or elsewhere who, if congenial, might over several years prove increasingly useful to the expedition, rather than to attempt to impose Greek archaeology on a professional architect.

I have already cabled you (on February 21) to this effect. I realize that Athens and Cyprus may be even more barren of talent than I suppose, and that you may feel that we have let you down in not sending you one of Mr. Whittlesey's nominees sight unseen. If you feel this keenly, a cable to me reaffirming your inability to find anyone there, will secure you the services of some architect who though late in arriving, will fill your needs.

I have already cabled you (on February 21) to this effect. I have an avoidable expense. I realize that Athens and Cyprus may be even more barren of talent than I suppose, and that you may feel that we have let you down in not sending you one of Mr. Whittlesey's nominees sight unseen. If you feel this keenly, a cable to me reaffirming your inability to find anyone there, will secure you the services of some architect who though late in arriving, will fill your needs.

Now about Lapithos. Miss Virginia Grace has applied to the Philosophical Society for a subvention of $1700. to cover salary and expenses of research both in Cyprus and Philadelphia to prepare for publication. This application has been considered twice without favorable action. There is some hope that it will have better luck in April; if not, we will be in a difficult position. We will want to take advantage of the fact that Miss Grace's round-trip fare to Cilicia is being paid by the Bryn Mawr Archaeological Institute Expedition, and I hope that when summer comes we will be able to find $300 or $400 coincidentally with her departure from Tarsus so that she could go straight to Cyprus to work on the Lapithos material deferring her work in Philadelphia until a later moment. But with the best will in the world our revenues are so reduced that we could only undertake this expense by compromising some other phase of the Museum's work. I'll hope to have more welcome news later on; in the meantime I hope that the Cyprus authorities will concede this delay.