Auction Date:2010 May 12 @ 10:00 (UTC-05:00 : 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 in pencil signed “S. L. Clemens,” two pages, 5.75 x 9, February 15, 1885. Letter to Noah Brooks. In part: “The both of us thank you most heartily for your kind offer, but to our great regret we have got to lose the opportunity. Business matters will keep me in New York till the latest moment, & besides the platform is an exacting damned institution & does not permit me to eat anything after 2 o’clock p.m.—have to talk on an empty stomach always.” In fine condition, with wrinkling and show-through from heavy stock scrapbook remnants affixed to reverse of both pages, only lightly affecting appearance.
The “business matters” referred to here must pertain to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, his famous and controversial novel that was published on February 18, 1885, just three days after the date of this letter. Around this same period, Clemens was finishing a three-month national lecture tour with novelist George Washington Cable. Brooks, the recipient, was a newspaper reporter and editor known for a biography on Abraham Lincoln written following close observation of the sixteenth president. He was also in the audience during Clemens’ debut upon the lecture circuit in 1869. His keen attention to detailed picked up every nuance of the author, prompting him to note that Clemens’ “method as a lecturer was distinctly unique and novel. His slow, deliberate drawl, the anxious and perturbed expression of his visage, the apparently painful effort with which he framed his sentences, the surprise that spread over his face when the audience roared with delight or rapturously applauded the finer passages of his word-painting, were unlike anything of the kind they had ever known.” Clemens undoubtedly respected such a finely crafted commentary, leading to his sincere regret in not being able to sit down with this fellow writer. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RRAuction COA.
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 353 is due by Monday, January 25, 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.