Several hours after I sent my posting yesterday I got an email from the previous owner of the copy of Ludlow's HASHEESH EATER supposedly from Twain's library, saying that it was in a collection of drug-related books sold to a person in Europe, and was in storage and unlikely to be available for examination for several years. The last time enquiries were made about this book, it was also described as in storage and unavailable for inspection. From memory the book was described as being in unusually nice condition, with no markings whatsoever, other than a 1951 sale label (for Clara's Hollywood sale). This is not very promising. Every book I own or have examined from the 1951 sale has Clara's shelfmarks on the front or back end papers (I have a copy of her original shelfmark codes that she used on all of the books she owned when she lived in Detroit and organized them by subjects). Bookplates by themselves are scant evidence of anything, and when a book purporting to be from the 1951 sale shows up without Clara's ubiquitous shelfmarks it is a strong reason for doubts. Sometimes they have been erased, but seldom without leaving some trace. I have also noticed a curious pattern that most of the books included on the crude list that was prepared for the 1951 sale do not have the sale label, while many books that do have the sale label are not on that list, and tend not to have any markings (by Clara or any other Clemens). The 1951 sale list was said not to be complete, so absence from the 1951 list is not by itself damning. And shelfmarks aside, while unsigned and unannotated books were included on the list, it seems likely that any books left off the list would most likely have been unsigned or unannotated or had markings easily overlooked. But when combined with the presence of the sale label (a nice little two-color typeset label) and the absence of any of Clara's shelfmarks, it's cause for doubt. Another odd things about this book is the condition. The books that Twain owned out west tend to show some wear, often quite heavy, but he could have acquired a copy much later. However, whether it was acquired out west and shows no wear, or was acquired much later but shows no markings, it looks odd either way. I'm making further enquiries about this copy, but there is another problem: there is a high probability that it has a provenance that would tie it to one or both of two people who are known to have sold (in the 1970s) material of dubious origins as coming from the 1951 sale. The 1951 sale was conducted by a furniture auctioneer and there has always been a suspicion that the pretty little label was something added later to some books by one of the major buyers at the sale (Maxwell Hunley or Jake Zeitlin). It has never been asserted that either of these respected booksellers would have put the label into books not originating from that sale, but that such legitimate labels could have easily migrated over the years into more interesting books, or that spare labels could have fallen into eager hands (both of which have certainly happened with the 1911 sale labels). I'll be rereading some contemporary accounts of the sale to see if any mention of the label is made. Despite all of this (and you may know more about it than you ever wished!) I'm not ready to reject the book without an examination, but I'll remain very doubtful until things can be hashed out. Kevin Mac Donnell Austin TX