per Fanny C. Hesse
11 December 1877 • Hartford, Conn. (MS, revised and signed by SLC: CU-MARK, UCCL 08617)
Sir,
A fraudulent concern calling itself “the Franklin Publishing Co” of New York is canvassing the West for a book entitled “Elbow Room, or the Innocents at Home by Mark Twain.” I never have written any such book; I never have had any dealings whatever with the above firm, and whoever buys one of those books or pays for one after being deceived into subscribing for it, will do himself a wrong, & confer profit where it will be but ill deserved. I hope the western newspapers generally, will do me the great courtesy & kindness to copy this.
Clemens sent two copies of this letter to Orion, asking him to give them to the newspapers in Keokuk. Both copies remained in Orion’s possession and are now in the Mark Twain Papers. In a letter of 15 December he explained why he had not used them (CU-MARK):
Your letter of 11th with the notices for the papers received. You will see from my last letter that they are not necessary, as the case was probably that of a book agent stuck with some of Max Adler’s books and trying to work them off. The associated press dispatch probably went off and around all right, as such a dispatch was seen in the Chicago Tribune.
The following item appeared in the Chicago Tribune on 9 December (2), the day Orion wrote his “last letter,” informing Clemens of the fraud and of the dispatch he had sent to the associated press on 8 December (see 10 Dec 1877 to OC, n. 2). Similar notices may have appeared in other newspapers as well:
THE BOOK AGENT AROUND.
Special Dispatch to the Chicago Tribune.
Keokuk, Ia., Dec. 8.—An ingenious swindle has just been discovered in this city. A book agent has sold a number of books entitled “Elbow-Room; or, Innocents at Home.” The book is Max Adeler’s, but the agent has had a false title-page inserted with Mark Twain’s name on it. He left for Quincy and Hannibal after duping a number of people here.
MS, revised and signed by SLC, CU-MARK. A second copy of this letter, virtually identical, is also in CU-MARK; both copies, made by Fanny C. Hesse, were evidently enclosed in 10 December 1877 to Orion Clemens, UCCL 01511click to open letter.
MicroML, reel 4.
See Moffett Collection in Description of Provenanceclick to open letter.