Erna

 Dear Valeria,

Look at this good boy!

Grüße,

Erna Mohr

Helen

Dear Valeria,

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.

All the best,

Helen Keller

Mercedes

Valeria, sweetheart

AFTER everyone had left, 
It was always so wonderful sitting in the dark theatre with you. 
There was a mystery about it, 
As though the echo of many plays 
Still lingered in the folds of the curtain,         
While phantom figures crouched low in the chairs, 
Beating applause with vapor hands. 
Do you remember how we always sat silently? 
I would shut my eyes to feel your closeness nearer. 
Then slowly and like a ritual         
I would take your hand, 
And you would laugh a little and say, 
“My hands are awfully sticky”—or 
“I can’t seem to keep my hands clean in this theatre.” 
As if that mattered … as if that mattered …

loads of kisses,

Mercedes de Acosta

Carl Theodor

Dear Valeria, 

nothing in the world can be compared to the human face. It is a land one can never tire of exploring. There is no greater experience in a studio than to witness the expression of a sensitive face under the mysterious power of inspiration. 

Best Regards, 

Carl Theodor Dreyer