22 April 1876 • Hartford, Conn. (MS, in pencil: Sotheby’s, New York, December 1993, UCCL 07692)
slc
I delayed because I meant to run down myself & sp talk about the pictures—but I haven’t time.1explanatory note
They promise to be admirable photographs. We want a few of each (I have marked the No. on corner) so that we can determine which we like best. Two or three of the negatives have “missed fire,” so to speak. Those I have marked “none,” to prevent mistakes.
Some ‸ relatives of ours, now visiting us, will leave Tuesday, noon, & would like to rob me carry away some of these pictures. So—if you could get some of them ready without serious inconvenience—very well.2explanatory note
On 1 May 1876, the Hartford Courant printed the following notice (2):
Mr. Isaac White
made some fine portraits of Mark Twain last week, cabinet size, which he has for sale at his place of business, 15 Pratt street.
Four images taken at this time by Isaac White have been found. (“Cabinet size” photographs, a popular format for portraits, were mounted on cards measuring about 6.5 by 4.25 inches.) Two are portraits of Clemens, showing him in the sealskin coat he had purchased in Buffalo in September 1871, one of which was the following (CtMHTH):
For the other portrait, see Dec 1876 to Unidentified. Two photographs of Susy and Clara Clemens also survive. One was inscribed to Alice Kingsbury (3 or 4 May 1876 to Kingsbury).
The visiting relatives have not been identified with certainty. Olivia’s mother, Mrs. Langdon, paid a visit in late March and early April, but it is not known whether she remained until Tuesday, 25 April (Annie Adams Fields 1859-77, entries for 23 Mar and 6 Apr 1876). On that day, however, Lilly Warner wrote her husband, George, that Olivia had visited and told her she was happy that her “long run of company” was at an end. This suggests that 22 April is the probable date for the present letter, previously thought to have been written on 29 April (CU-MARK).
MS, in pencil, collection of Robert Daley, seen at Sotheby’s, New York, while awaiting sale in December 1993.
MicroPUL, reel 1.
The MS, in the Daley collection by 1974, was an unlisted item in lot 214, sold by Sotheby’s in December 1993 to an unidentified buyer.
More information on provenance may be found in Description of Provenanceclick to open link.