October 1883 • Unknown (Transcript, The Musical Record, November 1883, 9: UCCL 13332)
I am 47 years old, &Ⓐemendation therefore shall not live long enough to see International Copyright established; neither will my children live long enough; yet, for the sake of my (possible) remote descendants, I feel a languid interest in the subject.
Yes—to answer your question squarely—I am in favor of an International Copyright Law.
So was my great grandfather—it was in 1847 that he made his struggle in this great work—& it is my hope & prayer that as long as my stock shall last the transmitted voice of that old man will still go ringing down the centuries, stirring the international heart in the interest of the eternal cause for which he struggled & died.
I favor the Treaty which was proposed four or five years ago & is still being considered by our State Department.
I also favor engraving it on brass. It is on paper now. There is no lasting quality about paper.
Hartford, Oct. 1883.
References
- 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
- Fatout, Paul. Mark Twain Speaks for Himself. West Lafayette, Ind.: Purdue University Press. 1978
Transcript, The Musical Record, November 1883, 9.
New York Times, 11 November 1883, 4; San Francisco Bulletin, 22 November 1883, 4; The Publisher’s Weekly, 16 February 1884, 207; Fatout 1978, 133.