11 March 1870 • Buffalo, N.Y. (Mott 1957, 364, UCCL 00442)
If I can have entire ownership &Ⓐemendation disposal of what I write for the Galaxy, after it has appeared in the magazine, I will edit your humorous department for two thousand ($2,000) a year1explanatory note—& I give you my word that I can start out tomorrow or any day that I choose & make that money in two weeks, lecturing.2explanatory note
As the next letter indicates, Church and his brother, William, the Galaxy’s editors, had offered $2,400—contingent upon their retaining copyright to Clemens’s “humorous department.” Under the terms Clemens proposed here, his “Memoranda” appeared monthly in the Galaxy from May through December 1870 and in January, February, and April 1871 (SLC 1870 [MT00901], 1870 [MT00917], 1870 [MT00936], 1870 [MT00943], 1870 [MT00955], 1870 [MT00968], 1870 [MT00985], 1870 [MT01004], 1871 [MT01028], 1871 [MT01037], 1871 [MT01043]).
Since Clemens did not lecture on Sundays, he could have made $2,000 in two weeks, not counting expenses, if his fee had averaged about $167. But even by the season of 1871–72 it had risen only to $125 or $150 from the $75 or $100 he received in 1869–70 (10 June 71 to Redpath and Fall, n. 6click to open letter; 19 July 71 to Redpathclick to open letter; 23 July 71 to Bowenclick to open letter; L3 , 214–15, 384 n. 9).
Mott 1957, 364. Mott noted the letter was “dated March 11 [1870].”
L4 , 89–90.
The MS, part of the Willard Church Collection in 1938, is not known to survive (see the commentary to 9 Feb 70 to Churchclick to open letter).