15 October 1868 • Hartford, Conn. (MS: CLSU, UCCL 11875)
the mississippi,” and “field, dungeon and escape,” by a. d. richardson.
“great rebellion,” by headley, “bible history,” illustrated, and
other standard works sold by subscription only. the most liberal
commission paid. send for circular.
american publishing company,
e. bliss, jr., sec’y. 148 Asylum st.
f. e. bliss, treas. hartford, conn., Oct. 15 186 8
Your favor of Sept 23 is just to hand. I have been absent &f in the West & failed to send to the Everett House for my letters.
My terms are $100. ThusⒶemendation far, my only subject is, “American Vandals Abroad.” I do not expect to use my old lectures. I have just written this.1explanatory note
P. S.
G. L. Hutchings Esq | Chairman C. L. Soc. | 42 Wall street | New York return address: from american publishing co., hartfordⒶemendation, conn. if not called for within ten days, please return. postmarked: hartford conn. oct 15 docketed: Ans’d Oct. 19th | Mark Twain
George Long Hutchings (1843?–1937), born in London, was a banker with the Merchants’ National Bank at 42 Wall Street in New York City, where this letter was directed. He had written Clemens in his capacity as the lecture committee chairman of the Clayonian Society of Newark, New Jersey, a position he held at least through 1871. Clemens was in Cleveland and St. Louis from 9 to 26 September, and in Elmira from 27 to 29 September, before returning to Hartford by way of New York, where he arrived on the morning of 30 September. He may have stopped overnight at the Everett House, where he had directed his mail since mid-August. Clemens had finished writing his “American Vandal Abroad” lecture by 7 October. He delivered it exclusively throughout his 1868–69 tour, appearing successfully before the Clayonian Society in Newark on 9 December 1868. His usual fee was $100 during the season, although he evidently had to pay his own expenses (“George L. Hutchings,” New York Times, 5 Dec 1937, sec. 2:9; H. Wilson 1869, 758; 21 Sept 69 and 1 Jan 70 to Hutchings, Appendix Gclick to open link; Redpath and Fall, 5–6; L2 , 240, 242 n. 1, 246, 247 n. 1, 249 n. 1, 252–54 n. 1, 256, 257–58 n. 1, 262–65, 294, 320–21, 323–24 n. 4; L3 , 44 n. 2, 481).
MS, University Library, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (CLSU).
L5 , 682–683.
Donated, as part of a collection of 150 letters from the George Long Hutchings Lecture Club, to CLSU in 1986 by Jeanne Hutchings, widow of George Long Hutchings’s grandson, Frank Miller Hutchings.
More information on provenance may be found in Description of Provenanceclick to open link.