Harriet Wasson Styer (1843-1921) was identified as the author of *Facts: By A Woman* when Mark Twain Project editor Harriet Elinor Smith happened to mention the book to an acquaintance who turned out to be the great-great-granddaughter of the author. I can't find out when she married John Styer, b. 1833, listed as her husband on Findagrave.com. On Sat, Jan 18, 2020 at 7:17 PM Shelley Fisher Fishkin < [log in to unmask]> wrote: > Although, like Kevin, I don’t know the name of the anonymous author of of > Facts By A Woman (1881), the book is a favorite of mine because it contains > a rare and very detailed account of a wildly enthusiastic Black fan of > Twain’s work who surprised the agent by purchasing the most expensive > version of Tom Sawyer that she had available. Since it’s not a well-known > story, and since relatively recent research on the community in which this > encounter took place sheds light on the likelihood of it having happened as > described, I’ll share my thoughts on it here…. > > The encounter took place in Nevada City, in Nevada County, California. > The agent tries to capture an encounter she had with a “gentleman of color > in a distinguished barber shop” in that city by rendering his black dialect > as best she can. Although parts of her efforts to transcribe his speech > contain humorous malapropisms redolent of minstrelsy, the specificity of > why he wanted to buy the most expensive edition, and her pride in selling > this pricy copy of the book suggests that the encounter happened as she > said it had. > > Summarizing (in standard English) what the man said, he enthusiastically > shared why he liked the earlier work by Twain with which he was familiar > (clearly Innocents Abroad) because it offered people who were denied the > pleasures of traveling a sense of the broader world - and he liked the fact > that Twain did all this while catching the reader unawares with wonderful > humor that made him laugh so hard and fill him with so much joy, that it > did him more good than a revival meeting. He said Mark Twain had “done a > heap of good to these United States of Ameriky.” He wanted the leather > library binding to preserve the book as it circulated among his neighbors, > passing through many hands. The agent tells us that she “left his beaming > presence wishing that everybody would be as patronizing and considerate > about their ’neighborin’ hands;’ for that was always a point with me, > persuading some people out of the idea of buying a cheap binding in cloth, > which very soon fades, even in careful home hands.” > > Although UV does not reprint this excerpt from the book, the entire volume > is available on HathiTrust. The passage that sparked by interest is on pp. > 139-140. I also quote it passage in the end notes of my 1993 book Was > Huck Black? Mark Twain and African American Voices on pp.188-189. > > I was fascinated by this since it’s essentially the earliest “review” of > Twain by a Black reader. > > It is completely plausible that there were enough educated black readers > in Nevada City in the mid-nineteenth century for the man’s estimate of the > many hands the book would pass through to be prudent. I first became aware > of the importance Nevada City placed on the education of black children > from an 1869 column in the (San Francisco) Elevator by Jennie Carter, a > black journalist from Nevada City whose work was recently recovered and > published in a 2009 book edited by Eric Gardner (Jennie Carter: A Black > Journalist of the Early West). In this column (which I teach in my > “American West” class) Carter compares the school for black children in > Marysville unfavorably with the one in Nevada City. > A 2016 article in the (Nevada County) Union by Emily Lavin (“Nevada County > Historical Society Highlights Stories of African American Pioneers,”) > explains that the local historical society recently documented the > 19th-century Black community in the county. The article notes that although > almost no African Americans live in the area today, in the second half of > the 19th century there were “anywhere from 150-350 African Americans in > Nevada County,” a population that included “enslaved African Americans who > were brought ot the area by their Southern owners, former slaves who had > escaped captivity, and free African Americans. The community founded the > African Methodist Episcopal Church and a school for their children on > Church Street in Grass Valley. They bought property and founded businesses. > They worked as miners laborers, musicians, teachers and clergymen.” The > head of the local historical society said that “These were people that were > very aspirational. They really believed and expected that freed slaves for > the most part would be integrated into this country and that the promise of > this country would be fulfilled.” Although she mentions the names of some > of the most prominent Black residents (in addition to Jennie Carter - “who > served as an advocate for educational and social advancement,” she mentions > “John Bulmer, who enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War, and > Isaac Sanks and his son, Isaac T. Sanks, who advocated for voting rights > for African Americans.” She notes that “the county’s African American > population began to decline as the 19th century came to an end’ and many > relocated to San Francisco and Sacramento, where there were more jobs. > > We do not know who the unnamed “gentleman of color”was who took it upon > himself to share Tom Sawyer with with his friends and neighbors. But I > share all this information to make it clear that it is entirely plausible > that this early African American fan of Twain’s did just what he said he > planned to do. Thanks for prompting me to revisit all this, Clay, by asking > your question! > > Shelley > > On Jan 18, 2020, at 5:26 PM, Mac Donnell Rare Books < > [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote: > > Ben Griffin mentioned FACTS BY A WOMAN (1881). The source at UV says it > was written by Harriet Wasson, but my catalogue notes say the author was > Harriet Wasson Styer (1842-1921) so I'll need to resolve that possible > conflict. Maybe she married; she was not married at the time she was a book > agent in California. > > The one Barb mentions is an eccentric account, and I don't think mentions > actually selling books by Twain, but the false claim is made that Twain was > once a book agent. > > I can add a third: Elizabeth Lindley's DIARY OF A BOOK AGENT (1912). It's > of special interest because she was selling books in Hartford, and tried to > sell a set of Twain's books to a fellow-who was, unbeknown to her--a friend > of Twain. The fellow declined, but suggested she go to a particular address > and offer a set to one Samuel Clemens, who would very likely be interested > in Mark Twain's books. She fell for the trick, not knowing who this Clemens > fellow was. At least, that's the story she tells in her book. > > 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<http://www.macdonnellrarebooks.com> > > > ------ Original Message ------ > From: "Barbara Schmidt" <[log in to unmask]> > To: [log in to unmask] > Sent: 1/18/2020 12:59:22 PM > Subject: Re: Twain's Book agents > > This one may be of interest — THE BOOK AGENT: HIS BOOK by Joshua Wright > (1904). The text is available at archive.org. > > Barb > > On Saturday, January 18, 2020, Clay Shannon <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > Did any book agent write up his experiences - what it was like traveling > around the country, from house to house and farm to farm, selling people > advance copies of Twain's next book? I would wager a healthy sum that there > were some quite interesting stories to tell. > - B. Clay Shannon > > > > -- Benjamin Griffin Associate Editor, Mark Twain Project The Bancroft Library University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000 (510) 664-4238