1 Howells had sent a copy of Their Wedding Journey (Boston: James R. Osgood and Co., 1872) inscribed “To Mr. Samuel L. Clemens with the regards of W. D. Howells. Cambridge, March 15, 1872” (Gribben, 1:335). Serialized in the Atlantic Monthly from July through December 1871, the novel was published in book form on 19 December. On 30 December Olivia mentioned that she had begun reading it (Howells 1979, 387 n. 4; L4, 523 n. 2).

2 Canvassers began taking orders for Roughing It as early as 7 December, so Clemens’s reference here to “2 months’ sale,” suggesting a starting point in mid-January, is inaccurate. In later statements the American Publishing Company as well as Clemens counted sales from the beginning of February—that is, after receipt of the first bound books (advertisement, American Publisher 2 [June 72]: 6; 20 Apr 72 to Redpath, n. 4). Bliss made sure that the impressive results of the canvass were reported in the newspapers. By 8 February, according to the Hartford Courant, twenty thousand orders had been received (“Brief Mention,” 8 Feb 72, 2). On 23 February the Hartford Evening Post reported that the book was selling “very rapidly”: “25,000 orders have been received, and six hundred or eight hundred copies are being shipped per day” (“Our Publishing Companies,” 23 Feb 72, 2). On 1 March the Elmira Advertiser called it “the most popular book of the season, if not of the century,” adding, “It is almost impossible—at any rate it is exceedingly difficult—to procure books fast enough to supply the demand” (“Roughing It,” 4; RI 1993, 875, 876, 890; see also 21 Mar 72 to Bliss, n. 2).

3 See 20 Mar 72 to Bliss (draft), n. 7.