• Quarry Farm, Summer of 1876

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    Clemens family stayed first with the Langdons, until June 29, in Elmira, before adjourning to Quarry Farm.  Sam would immediately depart for the Congress of Authors Centennial Event in Philadelphia on  July 1st.

    Sometime before July 6, Sam traveled to Hartford and returned to Elmira by the 18th.

  • June 15, 1876 Thursday 

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    June, before the 15th  Sam wrote from Hartford to James Hammond Trumbull, enclosing Frank Etting’s reply to Sam’s questions about the Centennial event in Philadelphia. Etting had urged Sam and Trumbull to come; that there would be 150 authors and that not every one could read every piece but many would read part. Trumbull had provided the multilingual chapter epigraphs for The Gilded Age.

  • June 16, 1876 Friday 

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    June 16 Friday – George Bentley wrote from London, England

    Dear Sir / I enclose a cheque … with many thanks.

          Your article came very late, & only by displacing one, & making a slight curtailment of the commencement could I get it in time. You will therefore forgive this curtailment It is a quaint article & I shall hope to hear from you again, especially when gd fun runs riot with you.

  • June 18, 1876 Sunday

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    June 18 Sunday – Frank M. Etting wrote from Philadelphia to Sam.

    Dear Sir / I have been so overwhelmed by the details of our celebration of 7th June & of 2d July as to be unable to attend to the duty of correspondence at all— You must therefore make due allowance for my delay in replying to your favor of 8th inst—

  • June 20, 1876 Tuesday

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    June 20 Tuesday – Sam wrote to James Hammond Trumbull on Etting’s June 18 letter: “I think I’ll go, Trumbull, & I hope you will stick to your intention of going, too” [MTPO].

  • June 21, 1876 Wednesday 

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    June 21 Wednesday – Frank Soulé wrote from San Francisco to ask Clemens’ help in publishing his poem in 5 cantos, nearly 4,000 lines; he complained of working at the Alta where he was just a “machine not well oiled” and being unable to make a living after 17 years in SF [MTP]. Note: Sam wrote on the env. “Frank Soule Poet”. See Sept. 3, 1880 to Howells for more on Soulé.

  • June 22, 1876 Thursday

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    June 22 Thursday  Sam and Livy wrote from Elmira to John Brown in Scotland. Sam made efforts to cheer Brown up, to urge him to travel and visit, and to bring others with him. Livy wrote hope for Brown’s health to improve and gave news of her children.

  • June 24, 1876 Saturday 

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    June 24 Saturday  Sam wrote from Elmira to Elisha Bliss. He was ready for the proofs to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, but would be “better ready a week or ten days hence.” Sam suggested that American Publishing Co. could show better profits if it tried to do less, print fewer books (meaning more of his as well):

  • June 26, 1876 Monday 

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    June 26 Monday – The Cincinnati Commercial printed Moncure Conway’s “London Letter,” which contained several quotations, extracts and bits of plot summary for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. It also contained the entire fence-painting scene. From this publication many other newspapers picked up the article. Sam liked this method of publicity, of giving the public teasers before the book was issued [MTPO, notes on Sam’s July 24 to Conway].

  • July 1, 1876 Saturday

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    July 1 Saturday – Sam gave a reading of his sketch “Francis Lightfoot Lee of Virginia” at the Congress of Authors, Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania [Schmidt; Etting’s letter of June 18 forwarded by Sam to Trumbull]. Sam was impressed by the West Point Cadets who also participated in the Centennial Exhibition [MTNJ 2: 126n24]. Lorch says Sam received $300 for a fifteen minute reading given in the “midst of a concert” [153].

  • July 2, 1876 Sunday

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    July 2 Sunday – In a letter to Mary Mason Fairbanks on Sept. 14, Sam wrote that he “staid nearly a whole day” in Philadelphia, which means he traveled back to Elmira through the night, arriving early in the morning of July 2 [MTLE 1: 79, 110].

  • July 3, 1876 Monday 

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    July 3 Monday – Charles E. Perkins wrote to Sam: “Yours of the 1st inst is recd with check for taxes. I enclose tax bill receipted—also check for my half yearly charge of $150…The check for coupons for Mrs Clemens a/c is $404.25 and is deposited…” [MTP]. Note: Sam wrote on the env. “Tax receipt for July ’76 / Recpt for Perkins to July ‘76”

  • July 4, 1876 Tuesday

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    July 4 Tuesday  Sam wrote from Elmira to Moncure Conway, worried that the book and newspaper notice Conway had sent were lost. Communication with Bliss had become difficult at this point, with Sam having to ask Conway if the pictures from Bliss had arrived. They were needed for the English publication of TS. “I can’t find out from him,” Sam complained.

  • July 6, 1876 Thursday 

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    July 6 Thursday  In Hartford, Sam wrote a short note of thanks to George Bentley of the Temple Bar in London, for money received for an article sent on Apr. 26 [MTLE 1: 80]. Note: It’s not known when Sam left Hartford and returned to Elmira, though Bliss wrote him on July 18.

  • July 18, 1876 Tuesday 

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    July 18 Tuesday – Elisha Bliss wrote from Hartford to Sam.

    Friend Clemens— / Two weeks sickness this hot weather has nearly used me up, but I am out again; I should have replied to you before had I been able to do it! Your proofs have also been delayed on a/c of my indisposition—

  • July 20, 1876 Thursday 

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    July 20 Thursday – Elisha Bliss wrote enclosing proofs of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer [MTP].

    Henry H. Halterman wrote from Jackson, Ohio asking for a $500 loan [MTP]. Note: Sam wrote on the env. “$500 wanted.”

  • July 21, 1876 Friday 

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    July 21 Friday – The American Publishing Co.’s edition of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was copyrighted by title page this day, even though it wasn’t offered for sale until Dec. 1876 [Duckett 106, citing Blanck].

    J.W. Langdon wrote from NYC to solicit writing for his autograph album… “something original” [MTP]. Note: Sam wrote on the env. “Unutterable cheek”

  • July 22, 1876 Saturday

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    July 22 Saturday  In Elmira, Sam wrote a long conciliatory letter he marked PRIVATE to Elisha Bliss. In a July 20 letter Bliss answered Sam’s concerns and sent a few more chapters of proofs of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Bliss also had been sick, and objected to some of Sam’s suggestions. Sam’s wrote that his suggestions about shrinking the company were just that, and:

  • July 23, 1876 Sunday

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    July 23 Sunday – The Philadelphia Sunday Republic published part of the fence-whitewashing episode of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer [The Twainian, Mar. 1944 p.4].

    Charles Dudley Warner wrote from Hartford to Sam, sorry he hadn’t been able to get to Phila. soon enough to see him. He’d read TS “and greatly enjoyed” it. Much of his small scrawl is illegible [MTP]

  • July 24, 1876 Monday

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    July 24 Monday  Sam wrote from Elmira to Moncure Conway. He’d discovered where The Adventures of Tom Sawyer excerpts in the newspapers were originating from—Moncure’s marketing letters to a Cincinnati paper.

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