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
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------ 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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