The request for specific items in a grey market economy suggests the requester is a procurer of sought after items. So they may not have any interest in Twain, but their buyer does. Sent from my iPhone > On Jan 16, 2019, at 10:03 PM, JULES AUSTIN HOJNOWSKI <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > No, i have not > > Not by postal or email > > At least he read some of twain, to follow him :) > > Jules > > Get Outlook for Android<https://aka.ms/ghei36> > > ________________________________ > From: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Kent Rasmussen <[log in to unmask]> > Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2019 8:48:08 PM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Mark Twain in Venezuela > > Today, I received a note from a South American identifying himself as a > "professor of literature" at a high school in Venezuela inviting me to > donate four volumes of Mark Twain's writings that I edited to his > unnamed school. The books, he assured me, "will be used, with students, > in order to study the 19th century American Literature and authors." > > My initial reaction was sympathetic. I rather liked the idea of young > Venezuelan students eagerly poring through my books. At the same time, > however, I wondered if the letter was sincere. Something about it had a > familiar ring to it. The letter has too much the feel of boilerplate. I > decided to see what I could learn about the correspondent online, and > what I found is very revealing. My first discovery was the text of a > note he wrote to a British society of stamp collectors phrased almost > the same as his letter to me: > > "Dear staff of Norvic Philatelics . I´m a professor of `History' at > a local High School. I´d like to know if you can send as donation (by > Postal Service) some postage stamps from Great Britain. I need these > postage stamps, in order to get better my classes with my students, > focused on Philately as a source to learn world history, arts and sciences." > > Hey, I thought ... isn't he supposed to be a "professor of literature"? > Maybe he wears two hats. Or possibly three. I also found this note he > wrote to a German amateur film-making society: > > "Dear Staff of Selon Fischer Filmproduktion, I am professor of Films & > Filmmaking at local school of cinema. I would like to know if you can > send as donation (using post office) the DVD-Films: Die Sprachlosen > (2014) Vogelfrauen (2015) Fettes Grün (2016) These DVD-Films will be > watched by students, in order to study: film-directing by Selon Fischer. > ..." > > I suspect that further research might uncover more examples of this > fellow's versatility, but I won't bother to look for them. Meanwhile, I > have recalled why his boilerplate letters sounded so familiar. One of > the books he asked me to send him is DEAR MARK TWAIN, which contains a > letter (no. 99) from a young Norwegian asking Mark Twain for an > autograph in 1890, while suggesting that obtaining a sample of his > handwriting would give him his greatest joy. That letter didn't sound > sincere to me, either. A little research on my part discovered that its > author wrote similarly flattering letters to a wide variety of people, > essentially telling each that having his autograph would complete his > joy. The multi-talented "professor" in Venezuela sounds like his kinsman. > > I would be interested to know if anyone else on the forum has received > similar requests from my brazen Venezuelan correspondent. > > Kent