[Rarebooks] FS: Two Fine Mark Twain SIGNED Letters on the "oesophogus" and the "Immeasurable disaster" of his wife's death
Charles Agvent
charles at charlesagvent.com
Wed Sep 15 15:07:05 EDT 2021
TWAIN, Mark [CLEMENS, Samuel]. ARCHIVE OF TWO AUTOGRAPH LETTERS SIGNED
(ALSs) with Fine Content to Frank Holme with Material from the Bandar
Log Press. Riverdale on the Hudson and New York City, 4 January 1902 and
29 July 1904. Archive of 6 pieces including two AUTOGRAPH LETTERS SIGNED
with excellent content, one letter referencing a famous passage of his
and the other a poignant unpublished letter pertaining to his wife
Olivia who had died the previous month. Both letters by Clemens are on
small (3-1/2" x 5" and 3-1/2" x 6") pieces of mourning stationery
written to John Francis "Frank" Holme, a newspaper sketch artist who
covered the trials of Adolph Luetgert for the CHICAGO DAILY NEWS. Holme
was also a writer and printer who founded a publishing endeavor called
the Bandar Log Press. Clemens and Holme were friends, and Clemens was
among those who contributed financially to the project. The earliest
letter from Clemens to Holme is dated 4 January 1902 from Riverdale on
the Hudson. Clemens moved his family to Riverdale from Hartford after
their beloved daughter Suzy had died there in 1896 while Clemens and his
wife were abroad. They never set foot in their Hartford home again. In
full: "I rather admire that oesophogus myself, Mr. Holme, especially
because it caught-out the Editor of the Magazine & he sent to ask if I
had not made a mistake. Very truly yours, Mark Twain." The reference
undoubtedly refers to the well-known quote from A DOUBLE BARRELLED
DETECTIVE STORY published in HARPER'S MONTHLY in January and February of
1902: "...far in the empty sky a solitary oesophagus slept upon
motionless wing." In a letter to the SPRINGFIELD (MA) REPUBLICAN near
the time of publication, Clemens stated, "I published a short story
lately & it was in that that I put the oesophagus. I will say privately
that I expected it to bother some people--in fact, that was the
intention--but the harvest has been larger than I was calculating upon.
The oesophagus has gathered in the guilty and the innocent alike,
whereas I was only fishing for the innocent-- the innocent and
confiding." When the story was published in book form later that year,
Clemens included some of the letters he received from puzzled readers of
the magazine inquiring about the "solitary oesophagus." The later letter
by Clemens to Holme, dated 29 July 1904, makes a poignant reference to
his wife's recent death: "Dear Mr. Holme: I am exceedingly glad to be a
Bandar Log & own stock, and I send my best thanks. The 'stuff' has
reached me, & I highly prize it. Immeasurable disaster has befallen me
since the La Shelles were under my roof, & this has changed my permanent
address. Sincerely yours, S.L. Clemens." At the top Clemens has written,
"Permanent address: c/o H. H. Rogers, 26 Broadway New York City."
Olivia's death just the month before had hit Clemens hard. The night of
her death, Clemens wrote in his notebook, "At a quarter past 9 this
evening she that was the life of my life passed to the relief & the
peace of death after as months of unjust & unearned suffering. I first
saw her near 37 years ago, & now I have looked upon her face for the
last time. Oh, so unexpected!... I was full of remorse for things done &
said in these 34 years of married life that hurt Livy's heart." The H.
H. Rogers Clemens refers to is Henry H. Rogers, the Standard Oil magnate
who saved Clemens from financial ruin as well as copyright violations
and who became his unlikely friend during the writer's darkest hours.
Clemens also makes mention of the La Shelles, a reference to playwright
Kirke La Shelle who was also Treasurer of the Bandar Log Press. This
letter also comes with the envelope addressed by Clemens. Also included
in the archive are two copies of the first Bandar Log Press book:
HANDSOME CYRIL OR THE MESSENGER BOY WITH THE WARM FEET by George Ade.
One is a prospectus, without the color covers and with the text ending
at page 14 with the printed notice: "(The continuation of this deeply
interesting story will be found in No. 1 of the Strenuous Lads Library.
For particulars see next page." That page gives details of the various
printings that will be available. The other copy is the finished
product, a limited edition copy hand numbered 412 of 674. Holme has
written in this copy a note to his sister, "Mrs. Nan Gerstell, Merry
Christmas from her brother the printer 1903." The book also comes with a
transmittal Bandar Log Press envelope hand addressed by Holme. The books
are very scarce, especially the prospectus. The Bandar Log Press
envelope is quite fragile with chipping along the edges. The remaining
material is Near Fine. (#020654) $9,500
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