Day By Day Dates

Day by Day entries are from Mark Twain, Day By Day, four volumes of books compiled by David Fears and made available on-line by the Center for Mark Twain Studies.  The entries presented here are from conversions of the PDFs provided by the Center for Mark Twain Studies and are subject to the vagaries of that process.    The PDFs, themselves, have problems with formatting and some difficulties with indexing for searching.  These are the inevitable problems resulting from converting a printed book into PDFs.  Consequently, what is provided here are copies of copies.  

I have made attempts at providing a time-line for Twain's Geography and have been dissatisfied with the results.  Fears' work provides a comprehensive solution to that problem.  Each entry from the books is titled with the full date of the entry, solving a major problem I have with the On-line site - what year is the entry for.  The entries are certainly not perfect reproductions from Fears' books, however.  Converting PDFs to text frequently results in characters, and sometimes entire sections of text,  relocating.  In the later case I have tried to amend the problem where it occurs but more often than not the relocated characters are simply omitted.  Also, I cannot vouch for the paragraph structure.  Correcting these problems would require access to the printed copies of Fears' books.  Alas, but this is beyond my reach.

This page allows the reader to search for entries based on a range of dates.  The entries are also accessible from each of the primary sections (Epochs, Episodes and Chapters) of Twain's Geography.  

Entry Date (field_entry_date)

October 26, 1886 Tuesday

October 26 Tuesday – In Washington, General Philip H. Sheridan wrote a letter of introduction for Sam to Maj. Gen. J.M. Schofield. “You will find him a clever nice fellow and an interesting gentleman.” It was not discovered if Sam used the letter and met with Schofield [MTP].

Sam left Washington at about 3 or 4 P.M. and returned to New York. He wrote to Livy at 10 P.M.:

October 27, 1886 Wednesday

October 27 Wednesday – Sam was in New York, attending to business.

Dora Wheeler wrote from Cleveland, Sam’s letter having been forwarded from N.Y. “You are more than good to be willing to sit for me.” Dora intended to go to Hartford after Nov. 15. “Do you think Mr. Warner will let me do the same by him? Your letter to Mr Howells I know is alright — tho I have not yet seen it. I am very much obliged” [MTP].

October 28, 1886 Thursday 

October 28 Thursday – Sam was in New York, attending to business.

Frederic G. Kitton (1856-1904) wrote from London in preparation of a book on impressions of Charles Dickens. “I have no record that you ever knew Charles Dickens, or had even met him, but on the mere possibility of your having done so during the great Novelist’s stay in America, I venture to ask if you will kindly contribute a few lines to my forthcoming book….” Sam wrote on the envelope, “Can’t” then “Did”.

November 1886

November, early – As evidenced by a notebook entry: (S & I meet the others in Webster’s office at 11.30), General Philip Sheridan signed a contract for Webster & Co., to publish his Personal Memoirs, which would be completed in 1888.

November 2, 1886 Tuesday

November 2 Tuesday – Sam had a visitor in Hartford — Sarah Knowles Bolton, a prolific American author of a “famous” series of books (Poor boys who became Famous, Girls who became Famous, Famous Men of Science, Famous American Statesmen, Famous English Statesmen, etc. (see Nov. 3 entry). She did not stay overnight.

November 4, 1886 Thursday

November 4 Thursday – In New York, on Murray Hill Hotel stationery, Sam wrote to a Miss Samuel, answering her letter and request for a photograph of him.

I arrived in the city last night, & found your letter — whose very complimentary request I take pleasure in complying with [MTP]

November 8, 1886 Monday

November 8 Monday – In Hartford Sam wrote to Frederic G. Kitton, responding to his Oct. 28 request to contribute remarks to Kitton’s forthcoming book, Dickensiana:A Bibliography of the Literature Relating to Charles Dickens and His Writings (1886). Although writing other biographies, Kitton was noted for his work on Charles Dickens. At seventeen years of age he worked as an apprentice on the staff of the London Graphic.

November 12, 1886 Friday

November 12 Friday – In the morning, Sam called on General James B. Fry, Mrs. Julia Grant, and William Mackay Laffan. He then met his mother-in-law, Olivia Lewis Langdon and returned with her to Hartford, where she spent the winter with the family [MTNJ 3: 264n125]. In his notebook is a reminder to: “Get spectacles,” and to meet with the above, then “Receive mother” at the hotel, “12.15. Friday.”

November 13, 1886 Saturday

November 13 Saturday – In Hartford Sam wrote to Sarah Knowles Bolton, who suggested Sam see a “proof first,” of the section on Mark Twain for Famous American Authors (1887) [MTP].

Sam also wrote to James W. Paige, enclosing J.W. Schuckers’ Nov. 12. Schuckers wanted to meet Sam and Paige to interest them in his spacing device, which might work with the Paige typesetter.

November 15, 1886 Monday

November 15 Monday – Charles Webster wrote to Sam about a book they might publish:

Henry Clews wants us to publish a book written by him entitled “Twenty Eight Years in Wall St.,” being personal recollections of eminent capitalists [MTLTP 209n1]. (See Sam’s answer Nov. 17). Note: this was one of an “avalanche of offers” stemming from success of the Grant Memoirs.

November 16, 1886 Tuesday

November 16 Tuesday – In Hartford Sam wrote to the Clover Club that “engagements already entered into” prevented his attending their meeting [MTP]. Note: The Clover was a Philadelphia dancing club formed in 1881. It was famous for its distinguished guests and for its humorous way of entertaining them. Sam spoke there in 1885 (See Apr. 9, 1885 entry.)

November 17, 1886 Wednesday

November 17 Wednesday – In Hartford in the morning, Sam received a letter from Richard Watson Gilder, which led him to write two letters to Charles Webster. In the first letter, Sam begins by referring to Henry Clews, prominent New York banker, who was shopping a book Twenty-Eight Years in Wall Street. Sam had not forgotten being caught short of funds while in Europe during the panic of Sept. 1873.

November 21, 1886 Sunday

November 21 Sunday – Charles Hopkins Clark wrote “Personal” on a note to Sam about the “private and none of my business” libel suit of Albert H. Walker against the Courant. “…if you could see… [the] application ….you’d be cured of all ills that may afflict you.” Clark suggested Sam “could accidentally get her [Mrs. C.D. Warner] to show you” but didn’t wish Sam to say it was his idea [MTP].

November 22, 1886 Monday

November 22 Monday – Henry B. Barnes of the N.Y. publishing house of A.S. Barnes & Co. dictated a typed letter to Sam, thanking him for agreeing to attend the Stationers Board of Trade dinner on the second Tuesday of February (Feb. 8) [MTP].