Waterbury evening Democrat., 1890-06-03
FORTUNES IN HUMOR.
Funny Writer'S Whose Books Havo
Made Them Rich.


-OtheF Golden Jok0ros
Fun frequently pays, in fact, not
few funny men have made fortunes by
making people laugh. Within the past
few years American humor has become
q genial partner in Croesus & Co.
At present the oughtsst writing II
worth many times its weight tn gold,
writes Aaron Wiley in the New York
Journal. A few jests I'LL . tat purse. A
pun falls like the Jingle Of coin. An
anecdote could almost be quoted on
Change. Humorists can afford to laugh.
Speaking from purely financial point
OF view. this is the golden age Of Amer
loan humorists. The popular ones who
have drunmed up any regular trade get
moro money for their wares than any
other literary wozlmen get for theirA
Mark Twain II . monument Of hnan-
cial SUCCESS among the hnmorists Of the
world ana Of time. In business solidity
no humorist since and including Ais
tophanes Is a marker to him. He IL to
an average humorist what O pyramid II
to mummy. A count recently made
showed that 1900, 900 copies Of his books
had been sold. As nearly every one OF
sA@OOS AVSAo A. ASes<A Wy ia 0AU49o A0Ik4XyS
and then lent to some other family,
which also kindly lends It, and as many
copies are obtained at the public II
brAries, his work has probably been
read by moro than 10, ooo, 900 people.
Mr.. Twain Is SO rich that he has
brought the dignity of the counting
room into literature. 1t Is estimated
that he has made about q million dol
lars with his pen. He made eeo, 900 on
''Huckleberry Finn" and "Huckleberry
Finn" was not one of his more fortunate
books, for 1t sold only 10000 copies.
One hundred and eighty thousand copies
Of "Innocents Abroad" were sold before
the bindings began to tear-that is, the
first year. One hundred thousand peo-
pie bought ''Roughing It." Life on
the Mississippi" must have been
bonanza, for 10000 copies were worked
of, and if the book was .as profitable to
the writer as was "Huckleberry Finn"
1t Melted him e7o, 200.
The Connecticut Yankee at King
Arthur's Court" could not coin more
money If he were an alchemist there.
1t is going of like hot cakes at the rate
of 2o, 900 copies q month. II 1t has any
of the sterling qualities Of "Huckleber-
ry Finn" in it, it must be bringing the
successful humorist a monthly income
Of 1000.
The extent Of Mark Twain's popu-
larity may be judged by the fact that the
''Gi1ded Age" sold 10000 copies-and
that book was a melancholy failure.
Certainly the humoHists are in clover
when they live in a country which con-
sumed $4,000 worth Of "Huckleberry
Finn"
Bill Nye is child Of nature. He,
however, makes q sufficient concession
to this hard and material civilization TO
earn 81, 0O0A week. He gets $500 week
from a newspaper syndicate for his week.
ly humorous letter. He earns $40, 900 q
year by Occurring. His books are sold
everywhere, and the royalty he receives
on them would afford q welcome income
to many a small prince in Europe.
Mr.. Nye's income is not less than $780,
900 q year, and as he becomes more
popular every year It is only question
Of time when his income will equal that
OF Rothschild. His earnings are larger
than those Of any other humorist who
has held aloof from the Publishing bust
ness. Mark Twain has combined light
publishing with Light writing, and saved
money by exploiting himself
Artemus Ward was, unfortunately,
born before the day Of newspaper syndi-
Gates He made little from his books
and hardly more than living wages from
his lectures. He died poor.
ELI Perkins has worked slender vein
Of humor with com mendable persever.
ance, leaving the lecture platform COCA
honally to speak on the tariff. About
quarter of a million dollars has been
paid by the American people to hear
him lecture.
Josh Billings made about half mill
ion dollars by his humorous and ortgi-
nal essays. and by delivering comic lect-
ures.
Donald G.. Mitchell, Oliver Wendell
Holmes, Charles Dudley Warner and
Frank Stockton have been moderately
successful as humorists, though they
have never earned the large peouniacy
rewards and the wide popularity Of their
moro successful comrades.
Eugene Field is one Of the few popu-
lar humorists who are not million
aires. he printed his poems for pri-
vste circulation only, and refused all
the persuasive offers Of Major Pond to
lecture.