14 October 1877 • Hartford, Conn. (MS, in pencil: CtHMTH, UCCL 01494)
◊◊If you approve this, please communicate it to Messrs. Davies & Co—& in your own language if you prefer.
enclosure, in ink:
Dr Sirs: I remember having the soul persecuted out of me in London 5 years ago, by a genteel tramp who wanted to sell me an engraving. To get rid of this prersecutor I agreed to take his ware—which was to be furnished to me in 2½ years from that time. When three had gone by I was glad—for the tramp had failed of his agreement. & now I never
I will give for ifty dollars, currency, for that box & contents, free of all dues & charges (& then anybody can have it for $20 cents who will take it off my hands.) I cannot receive the box upon any other terms.
With thanks for your offer to advance for me, I am, Dr Sirs,
Clemens’s proposed reply was addressed to Davies and Company, the agency employed by the Doré Gallery to ship him the engraving of Christ Leaving the Praetorium. They had written (CtHMTH):
References
- Mark Twain House and Museum, Hartford, Conn.
- Machlis, Paul, ed. Union Catalog of Clemens Letters. Edited by Paul Machlis. Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press. [In some cases, UCCL catalog numbers cited in this volume supersede those assigned in 1986 and reflect corrections or additions to the catalog since publication. An updated version of the catalog can be consulted via the Letters Search page at MTPO.] 1986
- Microfilm Edition of Mark Twain’s Previously Unpublished Letters. Prepared by Anh Quynh Bui, Victor Fischer, Michael B. Frank, Robert H. Hirst, Lin Salamo, and Harriet Elinor Smith. 8 vols. Berkeley: The Bancroft Library. 2001
MS, in pencil, CtHMTH.
MicroPUL, reel 1.
See Perkins Collection in Description of Provenanceclick to open link.