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Add to My Citations To Francis P. Church
11 March 1870 • Buffalo, N.Y.
(Mott 1957, 364, UCCL 00442)
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[March 11].

. . . .

If I can have entire ownership [&] disposal of what I write for the Galaxy, after it has appeared in the magazine, I will edit your humorous department for two thousand ($2,000) a year1—& I give you my word that I can start out tomorrow or any day that I choose & make that money in two weeks, lecturing.2

. . . .

Explanatory Notes | Textual Commentary

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1 As the next letter indicates, Church and his brother, William, the Galaxy’s editors, had offered $2,400—contingent upon their retaining copyright to Clemens’s “humorous department.” Under the terms Clemens proposed here, his “Memoranda” appeared monthly in the Galaxy from May through December 1870 and in January, February, and April 1871 (SLC 1870 [MT00901], 1870 [MT00917], 1870 [MT00936], 1870 [MT00943], 1870 [MT00955], 1870 [MT00968], 1870 [MT00985], 1870 [MT01004], 1871 [MT01028], 1871 [MT01037], 1871 [MT01043]).

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2 Since Clemens did not lecture on Sundays, he could have made $2,000 in two weeks, not counting expenses, if his fee had averaged about $167. But even by the season of 1871–72 it had risen only to $125 or $150 from the $75 or $100 he received in 1869–70 (10 June 71 to Redpath and Fall, n. 6; 19 July 71 to Redpath; 23 July 71 to Bowen; L3, 214–15, 384 n. 9).



glyphglyphSource text(s):glyph
Mott 1957, 364. Mott noted the letter was “dated March 11 [1870].”

glyphglyphPrevious publication:glyph L4, 89–90.

glyphglyphProvenance:glyphThe MS, part of the Willard Church Collection in 1938, is not known to survive (see the commentary to 9 Feb 70 to Church).

glyphglyphEmendations and textual notes:glyph


March 11. • [reported, not quoted]

& • and [also at 90.1, 2]