Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
(800) 937-3880
SELL

Lot #579
Samuel L. Clemens

"I am bringing a libel suit & I want these papers as evidence"

This lot has closed

Estimate: $800+
Sell a Similar Item?
Share:  

Description

"I am bringing a libel suit & I want these papers as evidence"

ALS signed “Mark,” one page both sides, 4.5 x 7, April 9, 1874. Letter to Jerome B. Stillson, managing editor of the New York World. In full: "Will you please have all the exchanges saved & put by for me that contain that silly item that I have 'received & paid the bill for a complimentary supper given to me in Hartford?' In confidence, I am bringing a libel suit & I want these papers as evidence. Don't mention it. We shall arrive at the Windsor Hotel Wednesday evening next, & remain over Thursday. My wife is not strong, & we are away for the summer. Try to drop in there; I want to talk business, & I never find you at the office. Now send a note to the office of the hotel, saying what hour you'll call." In very good to fine condition, with intersecting folds and a diagonal crease. The New York World's 'exchanges' were copies of other newspapers it received in exchange for copies of its own issues. Apparently, the New York Post had run a piece stating, 'Mark Twain recently received and paid the bill for a complimentary supper tendered him in Hartford,' which was then reprinted in several other newspapers. The claim was refuted in Charles Dudley Warner's Hartford Courant on April 10th.

Auction Info

  • Auction Title: March Auction
  • Dates: #523 - Ended March 07, 2018





This item is Pre-Certified by PSA/DNA
Buy a third-party letter of authenticity for $100.00

*This item has been pre-certified by a trusted third-party authentication service, and by placing a bid on this item, you agree to accept the opinion of this authentication service. If you wish to have an opinion rendered by a different authenticator of your choosing, you must do so prior to your placing of any bid. RR Auction is not responsible for differing opinions submitted 30 days after the date of the sale.