To Elisha Bliss, Jr.
20 May 1870 • Buffalo, N.Y.
(MS: Daley, UCCL 00465)

Confidential.

Buf—A May 20.

Friend Bliss—

Appleton wants me to furnish a few lines of letter fr press for a humorous picture-book—that is, two lines of remarks under each picture. I have intimated that if the pictures & the pay are both good, I will do it. What do you think of it? I thought that inasmuch as half the public would think I made the engravings as well as did the letter-press, it would be a unique & splendid advertisements wherewith to boost the “Innocents.” ‸I am to see proofs of the pictures before I contract.‸ 1

Yrs

Mark.

[letter docketed:] Mark Twain | May 20/70 | Author

Explanatory Notes

Editorial Signs

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1 Bliss objected to this proposal from D. Appleton and Company, of New York, eventually leading Clemens to end the “picture-book” negotiations (23–26 June 70 to Appleton; 4 July 70 to Bliss).

Description of Texts and Provenance

Source text(s):

MS, collection of Robert Daley until 1993.

Previous publication: L4, 131–132; MTLP, 35.

Provenance:The MS evidently remained among the American Publishing Company’s files until it was sold (and may have been at that time copied by Dana Ayer; see Brownell Collection in Description of Provenance). An Ayer handwritten transcription and a typed transcription are at WU. Sold in 1993 to an unidentified purchaser (Sotheby 1993, lot 214).