11 June 1870 • Elmira, N.Y. (City Book Auction, lot 130, UCCL 09890)
SendⒶemendation for us half past elevenⒶemendation tonight—Erie Depot.1explanatory note
Mrs. Ellen White | 472 Delaware Ave. | Buffalo.Ⓐemendation
Clemens and Olivia must have taken the Erie Railway’s “Day Express,” which departed Elmira at 7:07 p.m. Since even a passenger train required only about four-and-a-half hours to reach Buffalo, and Buffalo’s “free delivery system” provided for several mail deliveries each day, Clemens knew that this directive to White, the family housekeeper, doubtless sent on the 9:35 a.m. “Mail Train,” would arrive in ample time for her to have the family carriage waiting at the depot (“Railways,” Elmira Saturday Evening Review, 11 June 70, 7; “The Letter Carrier System,” Buffalo Express, 4 June 70, 4).
References
- City Book Auction. Books on Many Subjects. New York: City Book Auction. Sale no. 222 (9 January). 1943
- 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
- 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
City Book Auction, lot 130. The auction catalog describes the MS as “Autograph Letter Signed. 1p. Sm. 4to. Elmira, June 11. . . . To Mrs. Ellen White, 472 Delaware Ave. Buffalo.”
L4 , 150.
The present location of the MS (sold in 1943 by City Book Auction) is not known.
More information on provenance may be found in Description of Provenanceclick to open link.