17 April 1956

Dear Peter:

Thanks very much for your letter. I haven't yet seen Professor Corey, but I understand that he has written to you about some of the points raised by your answers to my questions.

Mama and I got back home at 9 o'clock on Saturday night, having come from Urbana, Illinois, during the day. I have given half of my lectures in Urbana. Last night we went to a dinner in Los Angeles given by the Board of Regents of the American College of Physicians - I am giving a talk at their meeting tomorrow. We fly back to Urbana on Thursday.

We enjoyed our visit to Canada immensely. We came across the Rockies in a blizzard, which continued after we had got to Winnipeg (we went by train from Portland to Vancouver, B.C., and then to Winnipeg). This snowfall caused the all-time record in Winnipeg to be broken - 98.4 inches of snow during the season. I spoke to the Medical School people in Winnipeg, and gave a chemistry seminar talk also.

In Urbana we met a professor of astronomy, interested in mathematical problems of astronomy, who had been in the University of London, Kings College, and then Queen Mary. His name is McViteie. His wife told me that her brother, Sir Kenneth Strong, might be interested to meet you, and that she would write to him, to suggest that he get in touch with you through Bragg. I judge that he is head of Intelligence in the British Army, a man about 55. Accordingly if you receive a call from British Army Intelligence, don't be worried about it - it is just a social matter.

There has been rain in southern California during our absence, and the rainfall for the season is nearly up to normal, several inches greater than last year at this time. Mama's daffodils have been blooming nicely, and also the camellias. Temperatures have not been high enough to bring out the hibiscus blossoms.

I have invited Professor Herbert Harned of Yale University to come to Pasadena for three months this summer, in order that he might synthesize some inorganic substances that we need, and that have caused us trouble so far. Also, I have asked Crellin to serve as his research assistant, at any rate during the time when we are to be in Italy. I think that it is likely that Mama and I shall stop in London with you only from 1 to 4 June, and spend the rest of the month in Italy, returning home early in July. Then I hope that he will continue with making drawings for the new edition of the Nature of the Chemical Bond.

Please give my love to Julia.

Love,

[Linus Pauling]

17 April 1956

Dr. R. Daudel

Centre de Chimie Theorique

5 Avenue de l'Observatoire

Paris

France

Dear Dr. Daudel:

I thank you for your letter of 22 March. I can understand that the death of Madame Joliot-Curie has led to a change in your plans, and I hope that it will turn out to be possible for you to come to Pasadena at some later time.

My colleagues and I were grieved to hear about the death of Madame Joliot-Curie, and, in common with other scientists throughout the world, we have felt a deep sense of loss.

With best regards,

Sincerely yours,

Linus Pauling:W

17 April, 1956

182 Broomwood Road

London S.W. 11

Dear Crellin,

I have a 1930 Mercedez-Benz SS for sale, Chassis No. 36 260, Engine No. 67 633, Touring car, two door, Aluminum alloy body, 6 cylinder, 7069 ml., supercharger, painted white with red trim, in excellent shape both body and engine, recently overhauled by Messrs. Daimler-Benz in Germany to the extent of $500, 4/5 Seater, new tires on four wheels, total mileage 500 on tires, good tires on two spares, size 6.50 X 20, wire knock off wheels, woodwork on dash and running boards recently repolished with French polish, 70,000 miles since new, right hand drive, fourspeed and reverse gearbox, 10 miles to the American gallon, wheelbase 134 inches, with trunk in black leather on the rear, single overhead camshaft, two Pallas carburetors.

I shall pay you a commission of 8% if you can sell it. To pay the cost of transportation and import duty, I need $2000 or so for it, and it can be delivered in August I would say to any port in the United States. Perhaps you should put in an advertisement in Road and Track. If the market price of such cars is greater than this, then demand more, if much less it ceases to be worth importing it. Our total investment in it is of the order of $1800 and it will cost about $700 to transport and duty and sales commission, so perhaps you should ask more. Its value here is rather less than this though.

We are going on a trip next week to Spain and Portugal in the Porsche, and will come back through Stuttgart where we shall trade the car for the Merc and shall drive the Merc back to England while the Porsche is shipped to California. Perhaps I shall get the engine changed while there to something bigger and better. What are your suggestions and what is most popular in the States? The Carrera engine will not fit, and anyway is too expensive. You might write to us someplace, but I do not know where we shall be quite yet. If you wrote by return of post you could probably catch us still here. How are things going? You don’t know of a posh job I might take next fall? Perhaps driving a tractor if it is well enough paying, or designing bombs.

Well, let me know what you think.

Much love and many thanks,

Peter