January 10 Friday – In Riverdale, N.Y. Sam wrote to Frank Bliss, explaining his grievance against the Boston publisher Small & Maynard, and the letters he’d sent Jan. 9 to the 25 writers to determine which twelve had agreed to be contributors:

The publishers, without my consent, used my name to help advertise a book to which I had neither contributed nor been asked to contribute.

Their scheme was, to get people to buy the book on the chance of being able to guess the 12 contributors & win a prize of $1,000. My name was a good beguiler because my style is easily detectible.

Is this not an illegal use of my name? If I am silent, am I not connecting to this misuse & a consenting party to the fraud, (if there is fraud?)

Can I enjoin them? Can I compel them to withdraw my name from their advertisements? ( I wish to do this BY COMPULSION only.)

Sam did not propose a suit because damages could not be proved. He had five replies from the 25 form letters so far [MTP].

Sam also wrote to Theodore Weld Stanton, who was traveling in France: “So far—good. If the boatmen have ‘certainly heard the story,’ then I am not the only person who has seen what seemed to be a Napoleon there” [MTP]. Note: on his trip down the Rhone near Avignon, France, Sam wrote about a mountain that seemed to be Napoleon’s face; see Sept. 28, 1891 entry. Evidently, Stanton had taken on the challenge of locating the mountain.

Chatto & Windus wrote to Sam, enclosing a financial statement and two checks, one for book sales, £178.7.9, and the other for sales of the deluxe edition, £42.1.6 [MTP].

Elisabeth Marbury sent Sam a statement for the PW play for week ending Dec. 21, 1901. Gross receipts were $1,563.75 with $14.38 due S.L. Clemens [MTP]. Note: Sam wrote on the env. “Puddnhead statement Jan

/02. My land!” perhaps noting the low amount.

Owen Wister, in Phila. sent a telegram to Sam after returning the form about “The House Party”:

“Couldn’t you perceive I wrote them all Don’t tell on me” [MTP]. Note: see Jan. 9, Sam’s polling.

Hydesaburo Ohashi in Boston sent a poem to Sam [MTP]. Note: Ohashi was a student at Harvard.

Sam’s notebook: “Mr. Draper, 271 Mad. Ave 9 p.m.” [NB 45 TS 2].