Elmira, Sept. 9./81.
My Dear Ticknor—
I didn’t think about their ‸there‸ being any hurry; & besides, I wasn’t expecting any delay. I got the cover-design last Sunday—mailed it to New York that evening; expected it to be in our artist’s hands by 9 a. m. Monday; expected it to be out of his hands (in the form of a type-metal facsimile,) some time during Wednesday; I hoped it would reach Chelsea that night, be cast in brass & finished-up on Thursday & be in your hands & ready for the press on Friday.
But everything went wrong, of course. The design did not reach our artist until some time on Tuesday; the Thanksgiving or Prayer-holiday stopped the work on it yesterday, no doubt; & now comes a telegram to say it won’t be ready for the brass founder till Monday.
So I am instructing my nephew to take the spelter-cast to Boston Monday night, & get it cast in brass, in Chelsea, Tuesday.
I am not foreseeing any difficulty about it; but if our work should be inferior & unsatisfactory to you, you can fire away & have the plate cut, by the die-sinkers. Webster will bring you the original design.
I shall be sorry if it turn[s] out that I have caused you a week’s delay, but hellandamnation I wasn’t dreaming of such a thing.
Truly Yours
S. L. Clemens
You haven’t told me the extra cost of gilding the whole thing instead of printing a part of it black.
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