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
>