16th July 1888
Arles, France
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Today I met a strange wild looking
Dutch artist in a bar; He speaks good English and said his name was Vincent.
He tried to sell me one of his paintings that showed a bunch of sunflowers.
If the painting had been a nice bowl of roses or a pot of daffodils I would
have made an offer but there is no profit to be made in a painting of some
droopy looking sunflowers. When I refused his offer he then proposed a
picture of a chair with a pipe resting on it. I rapidly made an excuse and
left.
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16th September 1889
Paris

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Today I visited the Paris World
Fair. One of the exhibits is Herr Daimler’s V-twin cylinder engine which is
supposed to make the “automobile” into a practical form of transport. As
with most foreign ideas this is an absurdity.
The “automobile” cannot compare to a horse…
Will it respond to a spoken command ?
Will its droppings help my roses grow?
At the end of its working life can I send it to the glue factory?
No, No and No again!
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Last
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