June 7 Tuesday – Sam left the family in Branford, Conn. and went back to the Hartford house, which was being decorated for some sort of event. Sam wrote to Livy at 8:45 P.M. that he’d helped Mr. Beals to string flags of countries around the balconies, and nixed a giant arch that bore “letters as big as your head” spelling out “The Home of Mark Twain.” Katy Leary made up a bed for Sam on the study divan [MTP].
June 5 Sunday – Sam wrote from Branford, Conn. to Webster, confirming his legal actions taken (“…you did right to sue the quack”). Sam concluded that Slote had paid him only about a third ($1,800 or $2,000 per year) of what he should have received on the scrapbook invention [MTBus 160].
June 7, 1881: Sam returns to Hartford.
June 8, 1881: Sam gave a speech at the Army of the Potomac Banquet, Allyn House, Hartford:
June 9, 1881: Sam went with a party by train to West Point for graduation festivities. He returns to Hartford June 11th.
June 4 Saturday – Sam wrote from Hartford to Orion that “Everything is packed & the house is ready for the decorators.” They would leave in an hour for Branford, planning to stay through July, then to Elmira till mid-September. Sam used a West Point invitation envelope which had just arrived to send Orion a picture of baby Jean [MTP].
June 3 Friday – Sam wrote from Hartford to the A.V.S. Anthony, asking him to buy “100 of the choicest cigars in Boston, for [Osgood] to fight the Atlantic voyage with….” [MTP]. Osgood was taking a trip abroad.
June 2 Thursday – Charles Webster wrote to Sam, a summary of business activities: the Independent Watch Co. stock, Kaolatype, and the Scrap Book and how to recover what Slote had taken [MTP].
June 1 Wednesday – Sam wrote from Hartford to J.S. Wood replying to a request for some unidentified materials. “…my slips will arrive ‘the day after the Fair’ ” [MTP]. This may possibly be John Seymour Wood (1853-1934), Author.
Orion Clemens wrote to his brother that he now had 1776 MS. pages on his autobiography [MTP].
Mrs. John Olmstead wrote from Boston to Clemens:
June – Sam wrote from Hartford to Charles Webster advising him that Woodman, Dan Slote’s former partner, might be someone valuable to consult on scrapbook matters [MTP].
Sam inscribed: “S.L. Clemens, Hartford, June, 1881” on the flyleaf of Charles Anthon’s (1797-1867) Classical Dictionary (1880), which treated Greek and Roman literature and history [Gribben 25].
May 31 Tuesday – Sam wrote from Hartford to Webster advising him on the stock price of American Bank Note Co. Howells had informed Sam that a broker named Shepard could get the stock cheaper than Bissell, the Hartford broker Sam usually dealt with. Sam authorized Webster to buy $1000 worth.
May 30 Monday – Sam wrote from Hartford to Charles Webster. Sam forwarded notes he’d made a week or two before, one of which suggested Slote had used his money to pay Kaolatype debts incurred before Sam purchased stock [MTBus 158].