September 24 Wednesday – Sam wrote from Elmira to Karl Gerhardt in Philadelphia:

“Dear K—Call at the Lafayette Hotel [in Philadelphia] at 9 SHARP, day after to-morrow (Friday) morning, & ask for J. B. Smith. That will be me. Keep my real name quiet. If nothing happens, I shall be there—otherwise I will send you some letters of introduction.”

Sam lectured him about sending original copies of letters with instructions to “preserve this” or “Return this,” etc. “Don’t ever do that again—send me a COPY of the thing…” [MTP].

On or just before this day Sam wrote to Charles Webster. He’d waited “a couple of days” for a special ink to come from the Heliotype Co. in Boston to be used on the bust page for Huck Finn, but it hadn’t come.

“—so now the signatures must wait till I get back from Philadelphia Saturday morning. I reach there to-morrow evening & shall stop at the Lafayette Hotel under the name ‘J.B. Smith,’ if you should want to communicate with me to-morrow night or Friday” [MTP]. Note: Just why Sam’s presence in Philadelphia for the bronze casting of Gerhardt’s bust was necessary, or why Sam wanted to travel incognito, is unknown. Sam’s letter of Sept. 26 to Pond suggests Sam hoped to have met Cable there for a photo of the two of them to be made, but that it wasn’t the primary aim of the trip.