[Audio recording of letters dictated by William P. Lear]
Title
Description
Audio recording of letters dictated by William P. Lear, Geneva, Switzerland, circa May 1960.
Handwritten label on reel: "Letters for dictation."
Abstract
This audio recording contains several business and personal letters dictated by William P. Lear to his secretary June Shields, recorded at the Lear home in Geneva, Switzerland, circa May 1960. Most of the letters focus on Lear’s business ventures in Europe and discuss details about meetings, patents, business proposals, aircraft components and systems, and financial and legal matters. A few letters are more personal in nature, sending news and regards to family members and friends. In one lengthy letter addressed to his lawyer, Lear responds to claims from architect Cliff May, designer of the Lears’ ranch-style home in Geneva, and counters with his own claims about the house’s poor construction. Addressees include Al Handschumacher; John A. Bauman, General Manager of Santa Monica Aviation; lawyer Phil Golde; E. R. Dayton; Harold Downs; Herbert I. Swirn; Colonel Rothschild, Louis Newmark; Robert H. Bloomberg, President of Transworld Trade; Les Lear; Jim Brown; Samuel Melo; Patti Lear; Ken Miller; Harvey Schwartz; and John Lear. The recording concludes with a message addressed directly to Shields from William and Moya Lear.
Note that several of the name spellings have not been verified and are thus rendered phonetically in this transcript.