Italian composer (1813–1901) who takes a place among the most influential figures in the history of opera, and whose works, including such classics as Rigoletto, La Traviata, and Aïda, are a cornerstone of the genre. ALS in Italian signed “G. Verdi,” on both sides of a cream 4.5 x 3.5 card, July 4, 1898. Verdi writes to his friend, engineer Giuseppe De Amicis, in Genoa, thanking him for a recent postcard, noting that although he had to come to Genoa, he might not get there in the near future, and that he would rather stay in Sant’ Agata, lamenting the death of Carretta, and observing that, while there was a time when he never felt he was aging, he was now feeling the infirmities of old age. In very fine condition. JSA/John Reznikoff Auction LOA and RRAuction COA.