9? December 1871 • ?Fredonia, N.Y. (John Anderson, Jr., 1903, lot 51, and
Anderson Auction Company, 1903, lot 125, UCCL 09706)
IⒶemendation like this lecture first rate,—better than any I have ever had except the “Vandal”Ⓐemendation—three years ago. It is in the style of the Vandal.Ⓐemendation 1explanatory note
. . . YouⒶemendation can tell the societies they need feel no call whatever to change the advertised lecture. I simply get some fun out of changing it myself on the platform.Ⓐemendation People won’t Ⓐemendation fill a house half soⒶemendation readily to hear about Artemus Ward,Ⓐemendation as they will to hear about any other subject.Ⓐemendation 2explanatory note
“The American Vandal Abroad,” based on The Innocents Abroad, was the lecture that Clemens delivered in the season of 1868–69.
Earlier Clemens had insisted that societies be advised of changes in his advertised lecture (15 Sept 71 to Redpathclick to open link). Fearing that the bad press received by the Artemus Ward lecture might discourage audiences from attending and discovering the replacement, Redpath and Fall ignored his present instruction (see the previous letter, n. 2).
Adopted readings followed by ‘(C)’ are editorial emendations of the source readings.
No copy-text. The text is based on two partial transcripts, each of which derives directly from the MS.
P1 describes the MS as “A. L. S. 2pp. 8vo. 1871”; P2 repeats the description, but misdates the letter 1877. Neither catalog identifies the addressee.
L4 , 512.