October 7, 1889 Monday

October 7 Monday – In Hartford Sam wrote a long letter of proposition about the Paige typesetter to Joe Goodman. He wrote that he’d come close to writing him several times but the time wasn’t ripe then. “It is ripe, now.” After describing what the compositor would do, Sam placed an offer plainly before Goodman:

October 6, 1889 Sunday

October 6 Sunday – In Hartford Sam wrote to Sarah A. Sage (Mrs. Dean Sage) inviting for Livy and himself a visit by the Sages for Thursday, Oct. 17 and to “stay over Sunday & much longer if you can.” Livy had a “hard headache” caused by reading “five or ten minutes,” and so Sam wrote the invitation for her [MTP].

October 4, 1889 Friday

October 4 Friday – Sam jotted in his notebook that another of the anticipated apprentices for the Paige typesetter, Martin J. Slattery, on Oct. 3 and 4, “in his third hour (he had never seen the machine or its keyboard before) set 1593 ems. He sets 1500 an hour at the case” [3: 568].

October 3, 1889 Thursday

October 3 Thursday – Sam finished his slipper for Elsie Leslie, the partner of one knitted by William Gillette, out of admiration for the girl actress [Oct. 5 to Leslie].

Sam’s notebook: Oct. 3. One [Paige royalty] to Orion Clemens; the other to Mrs. P.A. Moffett [3: 569].

Charles Ethan Davis wrote another typesetting record on a postcard to Sam, this one including three apprentices, “F,” “J,” and “S”. [MTP].

October 2, 1889 Wednesday

October 2 WednesdayDaniel Frohman wrote Sam through Daniel Whitford, Sam’s attorney at Alexander & Green. He advised that a new version of Abby Sage Richardson’s dramatization of P&P “embodying some recent changes,” would be sent on to Clemens “within two weeks.” There had been repeated delays by Richardson in carrying out her contract with Sam [MTNJ 3: 524n138].

October 1889

OctoberNo Name Magazine ran a biographical sketch of Mark Twain, the first in a planned series of “American Literary Portraits.” Publishers’ Weekly reviewed: “Mark Twain is handled without fear or favor” [Publishers’ Weekly – American Booktrade Journal Vol. XXXVI July-Dec. 1889 p.542; not in Tenney].

September 30, 1889 Monday

September 30 MondayWilliam Ernest Henley (1849-1903) inscribed his A Book of Verses to Sam:

To Samuel L. Clemens, in admiration of his happy gift of making his fellow creatures happy. From W.E.H. Glasgow, Sept. 30, ’89 [Gribben 308]. Note: See W.C. Angus’ letter below; he sent Henley’s book which Henley inscribed.

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