Saul Steinberg: A Biography Part 23

"a diploma of discrimination and prejudice": ST made this remark in 1985 in notes made for Primo Levi when they exchanged "worthless" diplomas. YCAL, Box 38, Folder "Correspondence, 198587." In ST to AB, August 12, 1985, he called it "diploma di Ebreo-diploma of Jewishness."

"symmetrical to yours": Primo Levi to ST, Torino, July 18, 1985, YCAL, Box 38, Folder "Correspondence 198587." Levi also wrote that reading Bertoldo "was the event of the week. We all tried to imitate the drawings; we could do so more or less with Mosca's ... but not with yours and this is an indubitable sign of n.o.bility, as was later demonstrated."

"Only Saul remains, son of Moritz": In an interview with Robert Hughes, Time, April 17, 1978, ST used much the same language as he later wrote to Levi, concluding with "I am no architect. The only thing that remains is razza Ebraica!"

"Dad writes that I'm avoiding": ST to R & M Steinberg, February 19, 1940, Romanian letters, YCAL, Box 12.

"to sleep and eat a lot": ST to R & M Steinberg, March 6, 1940, Romanian letters, YCAL, Box 12.

"pretty painful to have to part with 2,000 lire": ST to R & M Steinberg, February 9, 1940, Romanian letters, YCAL, Box 12.

Several weeks pa.s.sed: ST to R & M Steinberg, March 15, 1940, Romanian letters, YCAL, Box 12.

He kept a partial list: ST listed this in a diary/journal he kept during his incarceration at the Tortoreto detention center. YCAL, Box 89, Folders "Tortoreto 194042," and "Miscellaneous 194042."

"other newspapers and magazines": YCAL, Box 89, Folder "Tortoreto," December 30, 1940. Bertoldo continued to publish until September 8, 1943. On May 7, 1941, ST wrote that he worked for Bertoldo until the "last issue, April 16," meaning the "last" before he left Milan.

"a nice drawing": MTL, "A Tragic Part of Life," n. 61. MTL posits that a pencil drawing containing bottles, flowers, and clocks, now in the possession of Margareta Latis, may have been a study for the Chiesa work. Pietro Chiesa was the artistic director of the interior design firm Fontane Arte, which is still in operation today.

His friend Vito Latis: Latis graduated from the Politecnico in 1935 and was an active member of a group of other graduates who advocated the modernist style. See also Maria Vittoria Capitanucci, Vito e Gustavo Latis: Frammenti di citta (Milan: Skira, 2007).

The commission Latis gave him: ST, YCAL, Box 89, Folder "Tortoreto," May 7, 1941. MTL, "Descent from Paradise," p. 332, n. 60, writes that Bruno Coen Sacerdotti, son of the original owner, has the painting in his possession. ST later asked AB twice about the painting, on January 26, 1946, and May 29, 1947. In the latter, he thought the villa might have been in Viareggio rather than Rapallo.

He never imagined: Information about ST's pa.s.sport(s) and travel visas are in YCAL, Box 89, folder "Tortoreto."

Antonescu allied the country firmly: Jelavich, History of the Balkans, pp. 22627.

"a year, two ago": ST to R & M Steinberg, August 12, 1940, Romanian letters, YCAL, Box 12.

there is no record that he ever tried: ST to R & M Steinberg, April 23 and August 12, 1940, Romanian letters, YCAL, Box 12.

"in terrible times": Julian Bach to ST, March 4, 1971, YCAL, Box 103. Bach reminisced about their first meeting in a letter welcoming ST as a new client brought to his agency by Wendy Weil. Bach is probably referring to "Life in the 'Guatavir' Line," Life, May 27, 1940, pp. 1415.

ST's luck was better: ST, diary, YCAL Box 20, Folders "Tortoreto 194042" and "Miscellaneous 194042," entry for December 18, 1940. The Town & Country article was ent.i.tled "The Shot Heard Round the Country." Besides the Life drawing in n. 33, Civita placed drawings in Harper's Bazaar, March 15, 1940.

This was very good news: ST to R & M Steinberg, December 20, 1940, Romanian letters, YCAL, Box 12. Some of his drawings listed in S:I, p. 29 and p. 237, n. 37, were sent to the Argentine publication Cascabel but may not have been published; others were published there on February 11 and June 3, 1942. Some were featured in the Brazilian journal Sombra, December 1940January 1941. See also S:I, p. 27, n. 34, p. 237, and pp. 26970. Also ST's correspondence with Gertrude Einstein (the Civita's administrative a.s.sistant in New York), YCAL, Box 1, Folder "1942 Correspondence" contains other references to South American publication.

Harry, on behalf of his extended family: Ada to ST, "lunedi September 22" (internal evidence suggests 1941early 1942), YCAL, Box 12. Ada asks, "are you bringing your parents over?" the implication being to New York. Harry Steinberg to Moritz and Rosa Steinberg, July 5, 1941, YCAL, Box 12, writes, "Naturally his desire is to bring you over as well. May G.o.d help him to carry out this plan."

Vagabonding with Vanderbilt: Lawrence Danson (son of Henrietta and Harold), "An Heroic Decision," Ontario Review no. 53 (FallWinter 20002001): 5960.

The Denver and New York Steinbergs pooled their money: Ibid., pp. 6162.

"expelled from the Kingdom": In the Decree of June 15, 1940. R & S, pp. 2533. See also Bosworth, Mussolini's Italy, pp. 41418; Smith, Mussolini, pp. 22022; MTL, "Descent from Paradise," p. 340.

various friends ... allowed him to sleep: AB, interview, June 19, 2007, and interview with Carol Chiodo, August 2008. AB shared a studio with Luciano Pozzo on the Via dell'Annunciata; ST to AB, November 23, 1945. Also YCAL Box 78, Folder "Tortoreto," translated by Adrienne Foulke, pp. 1and 2.

"The air in Milan was excellent": R & S, p. 27.

"like a real Sherlock Holmes": Ibid., p. 32.

While Steinberg was on the lam: Danson, "An Heroic Decision," p. 60. Judith Steinberg Ba.s.sow provided information about her father Martin Steinberg's role in interviews and telephone conversations throughout the winter of 201011. ST to AB, September 12, 1945, and August 22, 1946, where ST refers to the "old debt"; ST to Cesare Zavattini, written at Ellis Island, July 4, 1941, copy SSF, thanking him for the "300 lire" and promising to "take care of that soon." ST to R & M Steinberg, Milan, December 20, 1940, Romanian letters, YCAL, Box 12, discusses money donated by H. & M. Steinberg and C. Civita.

his application was rejected: Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr., April 23, 1940, YCAL, Box 89, folder "Miscellaneous 194042."

the idea of using the Dominican Republic: Cesar Civita to Lawrence Danson, n.d.; internal evidence suggests mid-June 1940. Copy at SSF.

"a very talented and worthwhile resident": Quoted in Danson, "An Heroic Decision," p. 60. Copies of the extant correspondence are at SSF and scattered throughout uncatalogued YCAL boxes.

The Was.h.i.+ngton consul's reply: Information that follows is from YCAL, Box 20, Folders "Tortoreto 194042" and "Miscellaneous 194042."

purchase a ticket in his name: Letter dated May 11, 1940, from Director da Policia de Vigilancia e Defesa do Estado, V. da Cunha, to the Portuguese Consul in Milan at the Ministerio dos Negocios Estrangeiros en Lisboa, received there on May 15, 1940, and referring to ST's file #552.1.

Portugal was being flooded: Alberto Dines, "Black Friday," Serrote no. 1, 2009, pp. 6972; cited in MTL, "Descent from Paradise," p. 338, note 79.

He never learned the real reason: Information that follows is from Doc.u.mento confidencial do secretario-general da Policia de Vigilancia e Defesa do Estado manifestando surpresa, em 07.09.1940, and memorando de 11.05.1940; Dines, "Black Friday," and MTL, "Descent from Paradise," p. 338, n. 79.

Undeterred, he contacted the Portuguese consul: For details of the flight, see Danson, "An Heroic Decision," pp. 6162; Memorando confidencial da Policia ve Vigilancia e Defesa do Estado (PVDR), to the Ministerio dos Negocios Estrangeiros, Lisboa, September 7, 1940.

"another Steinberg": Danson, "An Heroic Decision," p. 61. Although this was never verified, ST did repeat the story to HS, who said "it was one he liked to tell," interview, October 24, 2007.

As long as he had to stay in Rome overnight: ST, "Wartime Diary," Milan, December 12, 1940, YCAL, Box 20, Folder "Tortoreto 194042."

a cryptic diary-journal: Examples of the diaries he wrote at various times are in YCAL boxes and are cited where appropriate.

"most dramatic disaster": ST to Leo Steinberg, September 7, 1984, SSF: "44 years ago! Will tell you about it someday." LS, October 31, 2007, says ST never did.

"I am anxious right now": ST, "Journal, 194042," Milan, December 7, 1940, YCAL, Box 20, Folder "Tortoreto 194042."

"a great and fine book": Ibid., December 7 and 18, 1940.

"I would not treat a friend": Ibid., December 8, 1940.

To further complicate his life: Ibid., between December 8, 1940, and April 26, 1941.

"not really alone": ST to R &M Steinberg, January 7, 1941, Romanian letters, YCAL, Box 12.

"Gentile kindness": M & R Steinberg to ST, February 12, 1941, Romanian letters, YCAL, Box 12.

Jews were still allowed to read newspapers: R & M Steinberg to ST, May 1, 1941, Romanian letters, YCAL, Box 12. Historical information from Jelavits, History of the Balkans, pp. 22527.

"a certain Captain Vernetti": "San Vittore e Tortoreto" typescript ma.n.u.script, p. 2, YCAL, Box 78, Folder "Tortoreto, translated by Adrienne Foulke."

He wrote in his diary: ST, "Journal, 194042," December 25, 1940, YCAL, Box 20, Folder "Tortoreto 194042."

There must have been other foreign students: Information that follows is from Prefect of Milan to the Ministry of the Interior, February 21, 1941, in ACS, MI, PS, AG. Cat. A 16; draft of Ministry of the Interior to Prefect of Milan, February 27, 1941; Prefect of Milan to the Ministry of the Interior, March 12, 1941; Ministry of the Interior to the Prefects of Milan and Teramo, March 31, 1941. These doc.u.ments were found in the Archivio Centro dello Stato, Rome, by MTL, who generously made them available to me.

By the time Steinberg received this decree: ST, "Journal, 194042," May 7, 1941, Tortoreto, YCAL, Box 20, Folder "Tortoreto 194042." Unless noted otherwise, information that follows is from the "Wartime Diary."

The next day he was transferred: He gave a far more romantic version of this in R & S, p. 33, saying his first cellmates were "bicycle thieves," and the second was "another political detainee, or perhaps a false detainee who was there as a stool pigeon or for some other reason."

The two major categories of detainees: Among them was his old friend Giovanni Guareschi, from Bertoldo. See also Guareschi's "How I Got Like This," introduction to The Little World of Don Camillo.

On May 1 at 9 a.m., he was taken down: ST, "Journal, 194042," May 1, 1941, YCAL, Box 20, Folder "Tortoreto 194042."

Aldo was waiting: Dr. Pino Donizetti was a radiologist and, after the war, the author of a medical quiz published in the magazine Tempo Medico. ST originally met him through AB and stayed in touch from time to time thereafter.

They went from Bologna to Rimini: In R & S, pp. 3435, ST describes the trip as if he were the only prisoner on the train, and the landscape as one of "perilous mountains ... with the train going ... along the edge of the abyss." In "Descent from Paradise," MTL writes that the route from Milan to Ancona "is actually very flat."

"constantly on the road": ST to R & M Steinberg, Ancona, May 1, 1941, Romanian letters, YCAL, Box 12.

Steinberg was in the one called Tortoreto Alto: Information that follows is from Costantino Di Sante, "Dall'internamento alla deportazione," I campi di Concentramento in Abruzzo (194041) (Milan: F. Angeli, 2001), part II, pp. 215. See also Italia Iacoponi, Il fascismo, la resistenza, I campi di concentramento in provincial di Teramo: cenni storici (Colonnella: Grafiche Martintype).

"a truly romantic prison": ST to HS, March 25, 1955, AAA, written when he made a pilgrimage to the internment camp. I am grateful to Ms. Sterne for allowing me to quote from this letter and all others written to her by ST, which were restricted during her lifetime.

"as an allowance": R & S, pp. 3839.

"romantic young man": Elena Zanoni, Alba Adriatica e la sua gente: Un secolo di eventi e di ricordi (Rome: Pioda Imaging, 2006), pp. 15160, as quoted in MTL, "Descent from Paradise," p. 351, n. 127.

before she coined the lover's nickname: Ada's correspondence is scattered throughout the YCAL boxes, and every letter begins with "mi olino caro."

The violinist Alois Gogg: For futher information, see MTL, "Descent from Paradise," p. 352, n. 131.

made a tongue-in-cheek drawing: MTL provides extended provenance for various copies of this doc.u.ment in "Descent from Paradise," p. 381, fig. 18. Only a cover letter from the Prefect of Teramo is extant in ST's file with "seen by the Duce" noted in the margin.

"Tom Sawyer takes off his hat": ST, "Journal, 194042," entries for May 610, 1941, YCAL, Box 89, Folder "Tortoreto 194042."

"die of heartbreak": ST, "Journal, 194042," May 21, 1941, YCAL, Box 20, Folder "Tortoreto 194042."

his stark pencil drawings: MTL, "Descent from Paradise," p. 382, fig. 20.

a more dramatic story: His obituary in the New York Times carried this story: Sarah Boxer, "Saul Steinberg, Epic Doodler, Dies at 84," May 13, 1999. His pa.s.sport with all the travel visas and affidavits is in YCAL, Box 89, Folder "SS Romanian Pa.s.sport 1939."

he had all the proper travel doc.u.ments: MTL notes that Mondadori's a.s.sistant, Mathilde Finzi (another Jew in perilous circ.u.mstances who survived the war and became a successful literary agent in Milan), gave ST 2,214 lire ($73.80). In YCAL, Box 1, Folder 1, Cesar Civita's "Statement Account" up to March 1, 1942, notes that Arturo Civita and AB each lent 2,000 lire ($66.66). Undated letters from Ada refer to "money orders" she sent to Tortoreto. ST to AB, June 26, 1996, cites "Signorina Finzi" as one of the persons who aided his escape from Italy.

Henrietta Danson noticed sadly: Danson, "An Heroic Decision," p. 63.

They also supplied him: Ibid.

"They've brought me everything": ST to R & M Steinberg, July 2, 1941, Romanian letters, YCAL, Box 12.

CHAPTER SEVEN: TO ANSWER IN ENGLISH-A HEROIC DECISION.

"He is now in the Dominican Republic": James Geraghty, art editor, TNY, 1941 memo to Ik Schuman, TNY administrative editor; reprinted in Ben YaG.o.da, About Town: The New Yorker and the World It Made (New York: Scribner, 2000), p. 178.

When it finally docked: ST to R & M Steinberg, July 16 and 25, 1941, October 20, 1941, Romanian letters, YCAL, Box 12, Folder "Letters from Milano and Santo Domingo."

He drew his room: ST to Henrietta Danson, Ciudad Trujillo, August 25, 1941. Original in possession of Lawrence Danson, copy in SSF.

By October he had still not recovered: ST to "Henrietta and Harold [Danson]," October 1, 1941, copy in SSF.

he had generated more good ideas: ST to Henrietta Danson, October 12, 1941, copy in SSF.

"much primitive": ST, "Journal, 194042," October 22, 1941, YCAL, Box 12. On November 20, he spent the "evening at G.o.desteanu's and his wife."

the real excitement came: There is a notebook in YCAL, Box 2, Folder "Santo Domingo 1942," of lists and sketches of work ST was doing for U.S. magazines, plus ideas for drawings. Almost all of it is in Italian, with the occasional English word.

"the very goods English": ST to H & H Danson, November 17, 1941, copy in SSF.

"like a xray picture": ST to H & H Danson, October 12 and November 17, 1941, copy in SSF.

No matter how sick, tired, or depressed: ST to R & M Steinberg, July 16, 1941, Romanian letters, YCAL, Box 12.

The only unvarnished truth: ST to R & M Steinberg, October 20, 1941, Romanian letters, YCAL, Box 12.

After the United States entered the war: Harry Steinberg to R & M Steinberg, January 7, 1942, Romanian letters, YCAL, Box 12.

Aldo did reply: AB to ST, "22 Aug.," YCAL, Box 12, "Wartime Letters from Ada"; also AB to ST, July 22, 1941, YCAL, Box 12.

"He makes it clear": ST, "Journal, 194042," October 1, 1941.

"She writes bulls.h.i.+t": ST, "Journal, 194042," October 16, 1941. The word is either puttanate (bulls.h.i.+t) or puttana (wh.o.r.e). Whichever, ST is angry with Ada.

"feel rancor toward Aldo": Ada to ST, n.d., YCAL, Box 12, "Wartime Letters from Ada."

Ada tried to explain: The account that follows is based on internal evidence from undated "Wartime Letters from Ada," YCAL, Box 12.

Aldo did not like Ada: When I asked him about this in June 2007, he became angry and said that he was "finished" talking about Ada because "she is not very interesting and she bores me."

several days later when Ada sent a photo: ST, "Journal, 194042," October 17, 1941.

From then on, her letters referred casually to her husband: Ada to ST, "Wartime Letters from Ada," YCAL, Box 12.

On any particular "today": ST, "Journal, 194042," various entries from October 20, 1941, through February 11, 1942.

"Dear Adina, poor little thing": Ada to ST, Milano, October 30, 1941, "Wartime Letters from Ada," YCAL, Box 12; ST, "Journal, 194042," various entries, October 1720, 1941.

"in great fear": ST, "Journal, 194042," November 21, 1941.

he moved again: Estrelleta 42 (Altos), to H. & H. Danson, December 19, 1941; Gavino Puello 9, to H. & H. Danson, April 22, 1942.

a book jacket for Simon & Schuster: ST, undated letter to H. & H. Danson, probably NovemberDecember 1941. In "Journal, 194042," December 7, 1942, he wrote that he sent ten drawings to Simon & Schuster on December 6.