Auction Date:2011 Nov 09 @ 18:00 (UTC-5 : EST/CDT)
Location:5 Rt 101A Suite 5, Amherst, New Hampshire, 03031, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
ALS signed “S. L. Clemens,” four pages, 5 x 8, January 1, 1893. Letter, written from Florence, Italy, to Frederick J. Hall. In full: “Ours of Dec. 19 is to hand, & Mrs. Clemens is deeply distressed, for she thinks I have been blaming you or finding fault with you about something. But must surely that cannot be. I tell her that although I am prone to write hasty & regretable things to other people, I am not a bit likely to write such things to you. I can't believe I have done anything so ungrateful. If I have, pile coals of fire on my head, for I deserve it!
I wonder if my letter of credit isn't an incumbrance? Do you have to deposit the whole amount it calls for? If that is so, it is an incumbrance, & we must withdraw it & take the money out of soak. I have never made drafts upon it except when compelled, because I thought you deposited nothing against it & only had to put up money that I drew upon it; & that therefore the less I drew the easier it would be for you.
I am dreadfully sorry I didn't know it would be a help to you to let my monthly check pass over a couple of months. I could have stood that by drawing what is left of Mrs. Clemens's letter of credit, & we would have done it cheerfully.
I will write Whitmore [business agent] to send you the "Century" check for $1,000, & you can collect Mrs. Dodge's $2,000 (Whitmore has power of attorney which I think will enable him to endorse it over to you in my name). if you need that $3,000, put it in the business & use it, & send Whitmore the Company's note for a year. If you don't need it, turn it over to Mr. Halsey & let him invest it for me.
I've a mighty poor financial head, & I may be all wrong-but tell me if I am wrong in supposing that in lending my own firm money at 6 per cent I pay 4 of it myself & so really get only 2 per cent? Now don't laugh, if that is stupid.
Of course my friend declined to buy a quarter interest in the L.A.L. for $200,000. i judged he would. I hoped he would offer $100,000, but he didn't. If the cholera breaks out in America a few months hence, we can't borrow or sell; but if it doesn't, we must try hard to raise $100,000. I wish we could do it before there is a cholera scare. I have been in bed two or three days with a cold, but I got up an hour ago & I believe I am all right again. How I wish I had appreciated the need of $100,000 when I was in New York last summer! I would have tried my best to raise it. It would make us able to stand 1,000 of LAL per month, but not any more, I guess. You have done magnificently with the business, & we must raise the money somehow, to enable you to reap the reward of all that labor.” At the top of the first page, Clemens adds a handwritten postscript which reads, “P.S. It was a long letter I wrote to Gilder, at the same time that I wrote one to President Cleveland's little daughter Ruth. I sent this ‘P.S.’ the next day. SLC.”
In very good condition, with even toning over text of all pages from previous display and a few small pencil marks.
In this letter, Clemens writes to his publishing company’s manager and one-third owner, Frederick J. Hall, praising his hard work and admitting his own lack of business sense. His publishing company, Charles L. Webster & Co. was experiencing great financial difficulties at the time as it hadn’t published a successful book since The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn eight years earlier and was in debt due to his investment in the Paige typesetter and the publication of the Library of American Literature (LAL), a large voluminous work that was costly to produce and paid for by customers through installments, requiring time for revenue to catch up with expenses that the two partners could not cover. Despite Hall’s efforts to keep the company afloat while his partner traveled abroad, the overall financial burden of the company was made unbearable by the Panic of 1893. This lead Clemens to change his tune and later attack Hall as incompetent when the company failed in April of 1894; Hall was financially ruined. Desirable both in its publishing content and humor, the letter’s postscript adds interest with the mention of writing to President Cleveland's little daughter Ruth, for whom the candy bar "Baby Ruth" was named!
Auction Location:
5 Rt 101A Suite 5, Amherst, New Hampshire, 03031, United States
Previewing Details:
Visit www.RRAuction.com
Buyer's Premiums:
| From (Incl.) | To (Excl.) | Premium |
| 0.00 |
Infinite |
20% |
Additional Fees:
Shipping Details:
Up to $100 $10.00
$101-$500 $15.00
$501-$1,000 $20.00
$1,001-$3,000 $35.00
$3,000-$10,000 $45.00
Over $10,000 $100.00
Payment Details:
Paypal address: mandy@rrauction.com
Accepted Payment Methods:
- VISA
- Master Card
- Discover
- Money Order/Bank Draft
- Check/Cheque
- PayPal
Buyer's Premium
A 20% buyer's premium will be added to each winning bid, with a 2% discount for those paying by check, cash, or money order.
Your bid is a contract
Placing a bid online means you agree to abide by the terms and conditions listed by RRAuction.
Payment methods accepted
Money Order, Cashier's Check, Personal Check, or Wire Transfer.
Payment for items won in auction 378 is due by Monday, November 21, unless prior arrangements have been made. Late payment may result in suspension of your bidding privileges.
Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, or Discover are only accepted up to $5,000 without prior arrangement: please contact Mandy Eaton-Casey.
Further descriptions you can call us or email us if you'd like us to answer questions about these items.