SIGNED AUTOGRAPH LETTER FROM MARK TWAIN TO HIS CLOSE FRIEND, ELLEN D. CONWAY, CONCERNING A VISIT TO STRATFORD-ON-AVON AND TWAIN'S PREFERENCE FOR THE LANGHAM HOTEL IN LONDON
CLEMENS, Samuel L., better known as TWAIN, Mark. Autograph letter signed. [London, 1873]. Two sheets of unlined cream paper, measuring 9 by 7 inches and 4-1/2 by 7 inches; pp. 3; matted and framed with a portrait of Twain, entire piece measures 27 by 15 inches.
Original 1873 autograph signed letter from Mark Twain to his friend, Mrs. Ellen D. Conway, concerning plans for a surprise visit to Stratford-Upon-Avon for Twain's wife, a Shakespeare enthusiast. The copy of Pennsylvania merchant and book collector William F. Gable.
The letter, written in Twain's hand on June 25, 1873, reads in full: "Langham Hotel [London], June 25. My Dear Mrs. Conway: Pardon my dilatoriness—been running the Shah. July 8 being one of the dates which Mr. Charles suggests, we beg to take that for our visit to— to— I have forgotten the town's name, but no matter. So long as we get there.—However, upon referring to my wife I learn that the town is named Hepworth—& I see that she likes the ring of Mr. Charles's invitation, as expressed by you—& so do I, after so many solemn [scribbled out section] "Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Reginald Jones's compliments & request the pleasure. &c."—precisely the language they used to use in Missouri [crossed out: when I was a boy], in private invitations to funerals. I date from the Langham, because we remove to that hotel today. My wife likes Edwards' Hotel; & so would I if I were dead; I would not desire a more tranquil & satisfactory tomb. Good bye till we see you tomorrow night. Ys Sincerely, Samuel L. Clemens." At the beginning of the letter, Twain mentions "the Shah." In fact, in the summer of 1873, Twain was reporting on the Shah of Persia's visit to Britain for The New York Herald. Twain wrote five articles in a whirlwind—which apparently delayed him from writing this letter. The bulk of this letter concerns the planning of a surprise for Mrs. Twain. In 1904, Conway explained the plan: "Clemens and his wife came to London, and Charles Flower of Avonbank, the mayor of Stratford-Upon-Avon, begged me to bring them there for a visit. Mrs. Clemens was an ardent Shakespearian, and Mark Twain determined to give her a surprise. He told her that we were going on a journey to [the imaginary town of] Epworth, and persuaded me to connive with the joke by writing to Charles Flower not to meet us in himself but send his carriage" (Mark Twain's Letters V:388, note 2). Unfortunately, Mrs. Conway's explanation contains some mild confusion. Flower was not mayor of Stratford in 1873 (though his father had been mayor and, several years later, Flower would be). Rather, Flower was working on founding a Shakespeare Memorial Association, financing it, in part, through the proceeds of his brewery. Additionally, "Hepworth" was the fictional name of the town; Epworth is a northern English town, not involved in the intrigue. This letter was written to Ellen D. Conway, the wife of Moncure Conway, the famous minister and abolitionist. Twain considered Conway to be a close friend. The letter is included in Mark Twain's Letters, Volume V, pages 387-88. It was sold in the William F. Gable sale during the 1920s. "The story of Gable's rise to prominence had the characteristics of a Horatio Alger success novel. He worked in a grocery store as a teenager, opened his own store at the age of 25 and at 50 owned one of the most prosperous business establishments in Pennsylvania. After hours Gable devoted himself to books and reading… Gable was a gentlemanly collector, respected by members of the book trades and by his fellow bibliophiles" (Dickinson, 131). "One of Mr. Gable's most pleasurable relaxations from the cares of business was his library and collection of old and rare books, autographs and manuscripts… Mr. Gable was the owner of the largest collection extant of the letters and manuscripts of Bayard Taylor, also large collections of John Greenleaf Whittier, Henry W. Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Thomas Bailey Aldrich, Walt Whitman, [and] Mark Twain" (Donehoo, Pennsylvania: A History III:104-06).
Glue residue along inner marginal edge of sheets, unobtrusive original creasing, mild offsetting and a few faint stains to letter. Near-fine condition.