To James R. Osgood
4 March 1882 • Hartford, Conn. (MS: NN-BGC, UCCL 02561)
4 March 1882 • Hartford, Conn. (MS: NN-BGC, UCCL 02561)
Hartford, Mch 4/82.
Dear Osgood—
I’s gwyne to sen’ you de stuff jis’ as she stan’, now; an’ you an’ Misto Howls kin weed out enuff o’ dem 93,000 words fer to crowd de book down to one book; or you kin shove in a-lot enuff er dat ole Contrib-Club truck fer to swell her up & en bust her in two an’ make two books outen her.
Dey ain’t no use to buil’ no index, ner plan out no ’rangement er de stuff ontwel you is decided what you gwyne to do.
I don’t want none er dat rot what is in de small onvolups to go in, ’cepp’n jis’ us what Misto Howls say shel go in.
I don’ see how I come to git sich a goddam sight er truck on han’, nohow.
Yourn truly
S L Clemens
P.S. I wrotened to Cholly Webster ’bout dem goddam plates en copyrights.
MS, NN-BGC.
MTLP, 152–53.
Sometime before 1939 the MS was purchased by businessman William T. H. Howe (1874–1939); in 1940 Dr. Albert A. Berg bought and donated the Howe Collection to NN.
More information on provenance may be found in Description of Provenanceclick to open link.