October 1903
October – Catani Ugo’s portrait of Mark Twain was published in International Studio, p. 291. No additional text was provided [Tenney: “A Reference Guide Second Annual Supplement,” American Literary Realism, Autumn 1978 p. 172].
September 1903
September – At Quarry Farm in Elmira, N.Y. Sam gave daughter five bird and animial-related books.
He inscribed Olive Thorne Miller’s True Bird Stories from my Note-Books: “To / Jean Clemens / with her Father’s love / Sept. 1903. / It is never too late to mend. There’s plenty of time. / M.T.” [Christie’s Auction, June 24, 2009, Sale 2272. lot 16].
Sam also gave Jean the following each inscribed slightly different:
August 1903
August – At Quarry Farm in Elmira, N.Y. Sam inscribed his photograph with an aphorism to an unidentified person: “It is never too late to mend. There is no hurry. / Truly Your friend / Mark Twain ‘ New York, August 1908” [MTP].
August or September – In N.Y.C. Sam wrote to daughter Clara in Elmira.
Dear Ben, I expect to beat this letter home, but I don’t know yet.
July 1, 1903
July 1 Wednesday – At 8:30 a.m. Sam, Livy, and her trained nurse, Miss Margaret Sherry, left the Riverdale house and went down the hill to get on a launch. From the launch to Rogers’ yacht Kanawha, then down river to the Lackawanna R.R. dock at Hoboken, the group made the 10 a.m. train for the long ride to Quarry Farm in Elmira. They arrived at 4:40 p.m. Clara and Jean were to follow them the first week in August.
June 12, 1903
June 12 Friday – Sam was in Fairhaven, Mass. to confer with Rogers about business matters relating to Collier’s offers and arranging agreements between Collier’s, Harpers, and the American Publishing Co. Rogers had been recuperating from an appendectomy. Until this date, Livy had not been well enough to allow Sam to leave Riverdale. On June 15 Lyon wrote that Sam “came back this morning from a little visit with Mr.
June 3, 1903
June 3 Wednesday – Sam went to Hartford, planning to arrive there just after noon. He stayed at the Whitmore home [June 1 to Whitmore].
Thomas F. Gatts wrote to Sam.
Your esteemed favor of May 30th, received this morning. I assure you that we give due consideration to every word and sentence of your letter.
June 1903
June 1, before – Sam wrote to Daniel Willard Fiske, asking help in finding a furnished villa near Florence, Italy. He divulged that he was also writing Mrs. Ross , (Janet D. Ross ) and that daughter Clara was also writing Miss Hall and Miss Blood to keep an eye out for a place “during the next 5 or 6 months.” Livy added a PS in the top margin: “Do you know of any very good physicians in Florence?”
May 16, 1903
May 16 Saturday – Sam went to Fairhaven, Mass. to visit H.H. Rogers, who was recovering from an appendectomy. The men played billiards, went on a ride, then after dinner Rogers took to his bed; Sam and William E. Benjamin (Rogers’ son-in-law) played more billiards till 11:30 p.m. [May 17 to Livy].
May 1903
April, late or May early – Sam wrote a short essay, “Reflections on a Letter and a Book,” so titled later by Paine. The piece was a response to a letter and book sent him by Hilary Trent (aka R.M. Manley). Sam was often irritated by such requests to read literary works, and took this instance to wax ridicule on the selfishness of the human race [AMT 1: 181, 520n181.3].
April 1903
April – Mark Twain’s humorous article “Instructions in Art” first ran in
Metropolitan Magazine this month and in May, 1903. In part, with some of his drawings (inserts).