8 February 1870 • Buffalo, N.Y. (MS: CtY-BR, UCCL 00421)
[‘mark twain.’]
P. S. You must write the “Express” folks about the change of the Weekly—I never go near the office.2explanatory note
Don’t know what No. of the Broadway that article was in.3explanatory note
Am just married, & don’t take an interest in anything out of doors.
Give my love to Frank first time you see him or write him.
Four additional examples of this printed form letter have been found. One that Clemens dated ‘March 1’ but did not personalize, even with the name of its recipient, is not collected here (see Will M. Clemens 1900, 27). For the others, see 16 Mar 70click to open link and 13 Feb 71 to Unidentifiedclick to open link, and 26 Apr 70 to Fullerclick to open link.
John Fuller, of Boston—the brother of Frank Fuller, Clemens’s business and lecture agent in 1867—was probably a cashier at the Merchants National Bank at this time. It is not known under what auspices he invited Clemens to lecture. His second request concerned a change in his subscription to the weekly edition of the Buffalo Express, a gift from Clemens (26 Apr 70 to Fullerclick to open link; Boston Directory 1869, 251; ‘The Express,’ Buffalo Express, 8 Feb 70, 2; L2 , 5–6, 40–42, 53, 60).
‘Cannibalism in the Cars,’ a macabre sketch about passengers snowbound on a train, apparently written in January 1868, appeared in The Broadway: A London Magazine in November of that year (SLC 1868; ET&S1 , 551). For a detailed discussion of ‘Cannibalism in the Cars,’ see Branch, 585–91.
MS, Willard S. Morse Collection, Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University (CtY-BR).
L4 , 64–65; Dawson’s Book Shop 1942, 48, excerpt; a transcription of the form letter, dated 1 Mar 70, was published in Will M. Clemens 1900, 27.
donated to CtY in 1942 by Walter F. Frear.
More information on provenance may be found in Description of Provenanceclick to open link.