October 4 Thursday – Sam, in Hartford, wrote congratulations to A.V.S. Anthony, Osgood’s design manager, whose daughter was getting married. Sam sent his regrets at being unable to attend the ceremony [MTP].
October 3 or 4 Thursday – Sam wrote from Hartford to Charles Webster, sending new ideas to add to the history game and instructions for a new board—two boards with felt in between [MTBus 222].
October 1 Monday – Sam wrote from Hartford to Edward House. He complained that Twichell’s publication of his letter:
“…broke up some quite extensive plans of mine, & squandered & rendered useless the material out of which I had meant to build an illustrated small book—but that was the smallest part of the plan which he ruined” [MTHL 1: 440n4].
October – “American Literary Portraits / Mark Twain” ran in the Oct. issue of The Ideal Monthly Magazine, p.8-10. Not everyone was enamored of Sam:
“To him there is nothing sacred….At times he is so coarse he is not fit for polite society…has nothing, absolutely nothing, to redeem his coarseness, his irreverence, his want of refinement” [Tenney, MTJ, Spring 2004 p4].
September 30 Sunday – In Boston, ready to travel to Virginia to see his father, W.D. Howells wrote a short note to Sam, advising he wouldn’t be able to stop in Hartford on the way down, but hoped to stop on the way home [MTHL 1: 443].
September 29 Saturday – Sam wrote from Hartford to Charles Webster, directing him to “get that play out of your safe—‘Colonel Sellers as a Scientist’—& express it to me” [MTHL 1: 444]. Sam was now ready to respond to the Mallory brothers’ interest in the play.
September 28 Friday – Sam wrote from Hartford to Orion. Sam had hired his brother to supply lists of dates for English kings for the memory board game.
My Dear Bro – Kings rec’d. Quite satisfactory. Send balance soon as you can.
O, yes!—go right along with the former labor the minute you get the skeletons done—but don’t print till I say.
The news from Ma is first rate. All well here & send love. Sam [MTP].
September 24 Monday – From Sam’s notebook: “Sept. 24, ’83, ordered Worden & co, 48 Wall st, to buy 100 Or Trans at 40.” Note: From MTNJ 3: 29n50:
September 22 Saturday – Sam wrote two letters from Hartford to Charles Webster. One was about the game under development, and a table (secretary) Charles had helped Livy buy that had not arrived, and an order for 300 envelopes with “return to SLC.” Samuel Webster writes that Livy and Charles shared a love of antiques and enjoyed shopping in New York antique shops and auctions [MTBus 221].
September 21 Friday – Charles Webster wrote: suggested that Orion “get those 800 events together, 1 event for each year” in the history game [MTP].