Just back from the Hannibal Conference, and catching up on emails. This
is good work. BAL (Bib. of American Lit.) supplies a "ca. 1890" date to
this book, but this newspaper clip and letter from twain make clear that
BAL is in error.
Kevin
@
Mac Donnell Rare Books
9307 Glenlake Drive
Austin TX 78730
512-345-4139
Member: ABAA, ILAB, BSA
You can browse our books at:
www.macdonnellrarebooks.com
------ Original Message ------
From: "Barbara Schmidt" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: 7/23/2019 10:00:15 AM
Subject: Re: Mark Twain's Library of Humor a mystery
>I think the ELBOW ROOM publication was basically a “bait and switch” scam
>carried out by a small group. The Chicago Tribune on 27 Oct 1877 reported
>on the door-to-door scam. SLC sent a letter to newspapers across the
>country on 11 Dec 1877 disavowing it.
>
>Barb
>
>On Tuesday, July 23, 2019, Mac Donnell Rare Books <
>[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> The copies with the new subtitle show Twain as the author. The title-pages
>> are a cancel, but the circumstances of their publication are unknown.
>> Normally such a re-issue would be attributed to a publisher trying to cash
>> in and move out unsold copies, but the timing (ca 1890) in this case
>> suggests perhaps another motivation--somebody trying to stir the pot or get
>> even, perhaps. I dunno.
>>
>> Kevin
>> @
>> Mac Donnell Rare Books
>> 9307 Glenlake Drive
>> Austin TX 78730
>> 512-345-4139
>> Member: ABAA, ILAB, BSA
>>
>> You can browse our books at:
>> www.macdonnellrarebooks.com
>>
>>
>> ------ Original Message ------
>> From: "David Dussere" <[log in to unmask]>
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Sent: 7/22/2019 11:33:16 PM
>> Subject: Re: Mark Twain's Library of Humor a mystery
>>
>> There's always a bit/lot of unknown in the past. I'm not familiar with
>>> your copy of Elbow Room, or the Innocents at Home. My copy's title page is
>>> Elbow-Room/ a novel without a plot/ Philadelphia/ J.M. Stoddart & Co. Back
>>> page shows 1876. I think Elbow Room was remaindered and new title pages
>>> pasted in (one explanation for the subtitle you indicate). My memory
>>> (always a leaky vessel) recalls seeing a book with the title page Elbow
>>> Room with Mark Twain as the author. I saw this copy at U of Wisc. library
>>> (1971?) It was still cataloged with a Cutter number--hadn't been redone
>>> into LC.Horst Kruse's article in MTJ (1991) shows the animosity between
>>> Twain and Clark goes back to 1869 and publication of Twain's "Bad Boy"
>>> sketch. Twain's hostility to Clark may have changed his pseudonym from John
>>> Quill to Max Adeler. Anyway, the question remains-- was the Butterwick's
>>> Little Gas Bill" sketch included in MTLH as anonymous because the editors
>>> didn't know the author (Clark/Adeler was very well known in the 1880's), or
>>> because Twain wanted Clark/Adeler's name suppressed, or because Clark had
>>> renounced his humor in 1882 to become an editor and writer for business
>>> periodicals and refused permission, or for some other reason. There are
>>> good reasons to support each theory. Forthcoming facts are even more
>>> convincing.
>>> david dussere
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Mac Donnell Rare Books <[log in to unmask]>
>>> To: TWAIN-L <[log in to unmask]>
>>> Sent: Mon, Jul 22, 2019 8:19 am
>>> Subject: Re: Mark Twain's Library of Humor a mystery
>>>
>>> The plot thickens. Yes, Adeler accused Twain of stealing the plot for CY
>>> from him. Makes you wonder if the publication of Adeler's novel, Elbow
>>> Room (1876), with a fake title-page substituted reading Elbow Room, or
>>> the Innocents at Home, might have had something to do with all of this.
>>> The date is unknown but ca. 1890, so the timing is right.
>>>
>>>
>>> Kevin
>>> @
>>> Mac Donnell Rare Books
>>> 9307 Glenlake Drive
>>> Austin TX 78730
>>> 512-345-4139
>>> Member: ABAA, ILAB, BSA
>>>
>>> You can browse our books at:
>>> www.macdonnellrarebooks.com
>>>
>>>
>>> ------ Original Message ------
>>> From: "David Dussere" <[log in to unmask]>
>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>> Sent: 7/22/2019 12:13:21 AM
>>> Subject: Re: Mark Twain's Library of Humor a mystery
>>>
>>> Thanks Kevin for your (as always) informative reply. Your guess that the
>>>> editors of the MTLH didn't know the source because it had been reprinted
>>>> with no author indicated is probably what happened. But I have two
>>>> theories, both based on the contentious relationship between Clark and
>>>> Twain. (The MTJ in 1991 has two essays--one by Horst Kruse and the other by
>>>> David Ketterman) illustrating the friction.) Perhaps Twain wanted
>>>> Clark's/Adeler's name suppressed. Or Clark refused to grant permission to
>>>> publish a possibly copyright piece. (The almost exact sketch ("Butterwick's
>>>> Little Gas Bill") is in Clark/Adeler's ELBOW ROOM.) By 1888 ( the
>>>> publishing of MTLH) Clark was trying to get rid of his reputation as a
>>>> "mere" humorist. I look forward to the Clemens conference and welcome any
>>>> further discussion about Clark/Adeler and his place as a humorist.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: Mac Donnell Rare Books <[log in to unmask]>
>>>> To: TWAIN-L <[log in to unmask]>
>>>> Sent: Sun, Jul 21, 2019 11:59 am
>>>> Subject: Re: Mark Twain's Library of Humor a mystery
>>>>
>>>> Just speculating here:
>>>>
>>>> I've found Max Adler's sketches on Mr Butterwick's gas bill and Mr.
>>>> Butterwick counting sheep published in newspapers anonymously (and in
>>>> some papers where it is credited to Adler). Editors sometimes played
>>>> fast and loose with items they plucked from the exchange. Things get
>>>> credited to Twain that he did not write, and snippets from Twain's
>>>> published books often got reprinted under spurious titles, with and
>>>> without sourcing. Texts get altered to suit local readershiops and
>>>> authorships get misattributed or ignored.
>>>>
>>>> So, the text used in MTLB may have been taken from a newspaper, comic
>>>> anthology, or magazine where it appeared without the authorship
>>>> credited. I'm pretty certain Twain would have recognized Adler's
>>>> authorship of any sketch having to do with Mr Butterwick, but he did not
>>>> edit MTLB and may not have noticed the lack of attribution.
>>>>
>>>> I'd want to look at Gribben (MT's Library), MTP's online letters,
>>>> N&J1-3, AMT1-3, Fears Day-by-Day online (but double-check his citations,
>>>> and you may have to look under both the Ms and As in the index to find
>>>> references to Adler), as well as a few other places.
>>>>
>>>> Kevin
>>>> @
>>>> Mac Donnell Rare Books
>>>> 9307 Glenlake Drive
>>>> Austin TX 78730
>>>> 512-345-4139
>>>> Member: ABAA, ILAB, BSA
>>>>
>>>> You can browse our books at:
>>>> www.macdonnellrarebooks.com
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ------ Original Message ------
>>>> From: "David Dussere" <[log in to unmask]>
>>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>>> Sent: 7/20/2019 9:37:20 PM
>>>> Subject: Mark Twain's Library of Humor a mystery
>>>>
>>>> Only one selection "Butterwick's Little Gas Bill" in MTLH is attributed
>>>>> to anonymous. Why and what exactly was its source? Charles Heber Clark (Max
>>>>> Adeler/John Quill) wrote the sketch, but the where and why are only a
>>>>> speculation to me. I haven't done the needed research and would welcome any
>>>>> comments on the Forum or at the conference in Hannibal.David Dussere
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>
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