July 19 Friday – In Richmond, Va., Arthur C. Thornton (1865- ) wrote to Sam, spelling his name wrong. Thornton extended “a true old Virginia welcome” for Sam to visit in his “summer rambles.” Thornton referred to himself as the “forgotten writer of the horrible conglomeration of puns, which” Sam “rec’d some two years since…” Note: He was from an old Virginia family; his comedy book is not further identified.

If it is not asking too much of you, would you mind very much sending me your photograph to hang among my books, above “Innocents”? Give us a chance to show you how we treat our honoured guests in the “old Dominion,” & you will not, I hope, regret it [MTP].

Frederick J. Hall wrote to Sam of Daniel Beard’s terms to illustrate CY:

He wants $3,000 for illustrating your book….in all, some two hundred and fifty or sixty illustrations. This is for very careful work, and undoubtedly he will make the drawings at this price very fine. He can make a cheaper grade of drawings for less money, but we told him we would submit these figures to you. We paid Mr. Kemble $2,000 for making two hundred and four drawings, these of course were off-hand sketches [MTLTP 254n1].

Sam would immediately agree, though is letter is not extant. On the back of Hall’s July 19 envelope, written by Franklin Whitmore at Sam’s dictation:

I prefer this time to contract for the very best an artist can do. This time I want pictures, not black-board outlines and charcoal sketches. If Kemble illustrations for my last book were handed to me today, I could understand how tiresome to me that sameness would get to be, when distributed though a whole book, and I would put them promptly in the fire [MTLTP 254n1].

Walter Learned wrote to Sam. “Mr Lathrop, also is at Newport, suggests that I should send this …to you. I presume that Mr. Lathrop will write eloquently on the beauties and secrets of the [illegible word]. If he fails to do so, let me know and I will” [MTP].