To Olivia Lewis Langdon
22 December 1875 • Hartford, Conn.
(MS: CtHMTH, UCCL 01288)

Dec. 22.

Dear Mother:

I have been confined to the house & in the doctor’s clutches for about 3 weeks—otherwise I could not & would not have delayesd so long to tell you how thorought ly delighted I am with the Cyclopedia & how much it the book transcends even its splendid reputation. You could not have given me a thing I should prize more highly—& so my thanks are hearty & outspoken, mother dear.1

This is my first day out——went down town & selected some birds to send to you for our Christmas. Just got back—Livy approves the selection. We send ever so much love to you, our dear mother—& what slops over to the Cranes, don’t you see?2

Saml.

Explanatory Notes

Editorial Signs

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1 The gift was the initial volume or volumes of the ninth edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, evidently part of a twenty-four volume set published in Boston (Little, Brown and Co., 1875–89). Mrs. Langdon later added to it. At Christmas in 1888, for example, she gave the Clemenses the supplements and index, comprising five volumes (Gribben, 1:222; 6 Dec 88 to Langdon, CtHMTH).

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2 The Clemenses sent Susan and Theodore Crane a copy of The Book of American Interiors. Prepared by Charles Wyllys Elliott from Existing Houses. With Preliminary Essays and Letterpress Descriptions. Illustrated in Heliotype (Boston: James R. Osgood and Company, 1876). Olivia inscribed it: “To | The Cranes | Merry Christmas! | From the Clemenses. | Hartford, Dec. 25, 1875” (M & S Rare Books, lot 77). The book contained illustrations of rooms in the homes of several prominent individuals, including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and William Cullen Bryant, but not the Clemenses.

Description of Texts and Provenance

Source text(s):

MS, Jervis Langdon Collection, Mark Twain House, Hartford (CtHMTH).

Previous publication: L6, 602.

Provenance:The Jervis Langdon Collection was donated in 1963 by Ida Langdon.