to Louise A. and Robert M. Howland
3? September 1877 • Elmira, N.Y. (MS, damage emended: CU-MARK, UCCL 04656)
We were delighted to get your letter with the beautiful picture of your little girl in it—1explanatory note
I have been waiting, before writing to thank you, to get some new pictures of our little girls, we have made one effort which was not successful so I have decided not to wait any longer but to send you an old one— The one that I enclose was taken about a year and a half ago—it was very good of the children at the time we thought—2explanatory note
I should indeed like exceedingly to resume our acquaintance—Ⓐemendation When you come East I wish that youⒶemendation would come up to HartfordⒶemendation and spend two or three days with us. Do you often come to New York? I feel as if San Francisco people thought very little of taking that trip which seems to us so great an undertaking—
We are here on the East Hill near Elmira spending our Summer, we leave now for Hartford in a day or two—
Please remember me to Mr Howland.
With very pleasant memories of the few hours that we spent together I remain yours very truly
“Great country—hey
Bob?”3explanatory note The picture of our eldest child is good, but that of the
other is in some respects a libel.
Your little girl is a marevel of grace & beauty.
I warmly greet you both.
References
- University of California, Mark Twain Papers, The Bancroft Library, Berkeley
- 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 Manuscript Letters Now in the Mark Twain Papers. Prepared by Anh Quynh Bui, Victor Fischer, Michael B. Frank, Robert H. Hirst, Lin Salamo, and Harriet Elinor Smith. 11 vols. Berkeley: The Bancroft Library. 2001
- SLC (Samuel Langhorne Clemens). Mark Twain’s Letters, Volume 1: 1853–1866. Edited by Edgar Marquess Branch, Michael B. Frank, and Kenneth M. Sanderson. The Mark Twain Papers. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. Also online at MTPO[bib32371]. 1988
- SLC (Samuel Langhorne Clemens). Mark Twain’s Letters, Volume 4: 1870–1871. Edited by Victor Fischer, Michael B. Frank, and Lin Salamo. The Mark Twain Papers. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. Also online at MTPO[bib32371]. 1995
MS, damage emended, CU-MARK.
MicroML, reel 11.
Donated to CU-MARK in 1977 by Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Gunn. Gunn (1906–90) was the son of the Howlands’ daughter Edith.
More information on provenance may be found in Description of Provenanceclick to open link.